ICC's recent accomplishments in the area of Privacy and Personal Data Protection include:

• EU Commission approval of proposed ICC changes to model contracts for transborder data flows. This provided a tool for businesses to be able to move data in and out of the European Union, thereby streamlining such processes for businesses and in turn positively impacting consumers.
  
• Approval by the EU Commission of ICC's application form for binding corporate rules for transborder data transfers.
  
• Explanation of new EU contract clauses for data transfers by means of a webinar in 2010. These contract clauses are a latest attempt to design data protection measures that safeguard personal data, while meeting the day-to-day realities of businesses and ensuring closer cooperation between business and government authorities.
  
• Impact on national level data protection and privacy legislation in countries such as Pakistan. This increases consumer confidence that private information is appropriately protected by law and in turn increases confidence in transacting online.
  
• Active participation in the APEC pathfinder pilot self-assessment project for its Cross Border Privacy Rules programme and case study testing to show when and how these rules would apply and how accountability changes depending on whether the transfer is to a government, service provider or agent, affiliate or subsidiary.

Testimonials on the Task Force on Privacy and Personal Data Protection's work

Françoise Le Bail, Director General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Justice, 2012

"I would like to thank you for sending us the policy statement entitled "Cross-border law enforcement access to company data - current issues under data protection and privacy law", prepared by the ICC Commission on the Digital Economy. In this very interesting paper you highlight a serious concern for which a solution providing legal certainty for companies is urgently needed. The European Commission fully shares the concerns of the ICC member companies with presence in multiple countries when confronted with requests from law enforcement authorities to directly access personal data in their possession."

Peter Schaar, Chairman of the European Data Protection Commissioners 2007

"I would like to inform you that the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party adopted a Recommendation 1/2007 on the Standard Application for Approval of Binding Corporate Rules for the Transfer of Personal Data. The form has been drafted based on both the Article 29 WP documents as well as a form "Standard Application for Approval of Binding Corporate Rules for the Transfer of Personal Data outside the EU (to be used in all EU Member States)" provided by you in the correspondence of 20 July 2006. Once again, I would like to thank you for your valuable input facilitating the work of the Article 29 WP in this field."

Peter Schaar, Chairman of the European Data Protection Commissioners 2006

"I would like to thank you for providing us with a standard application form for Binding corporate rules prepared by the International Chamber of Commerce ("BCR application form"). Be informed you that the BCR application form has been widely discussed by the members of the Aricle 29 Data Protection Working Party at its recent meeting and that based also on the valuable input of the ICC, we are currently working on the BCR applications in order to simplify procedures for both applicants and data protection authorities in order to make the process more streamlined.
I hope that we can come to a good result in the very near future."

Ewa Kulesza, Polish Data Protection Commissioner, 2005

"I wish to express my sincere thanks for the received Report on "Binding Corporate Rules" prepared by the International Chamber of Commerce. The guidance concerning the legal solution for the transfer of personal data provided in this document is of great value for me, and I am sure that it will be very helpful to the work of the Bureau of the Inspector General for Personal Data Protection."

Charlie McCreevy, Member of the European Commission, 2005

"Thank you for your letter on behalf of the data protection task force of the International Chamber of Commerce. Your kind words on the negotiation of the standard contractual clauses were particularly appreciated. It was, indeed, an excellent example of cooperation between business and the Commission, and I am very grateful for the constructive approach that made a successful outcome possible."