ICC has launched the latest addition to the ICC Tools for E-Business, a series of booklets that disseminates policy models and best practices for the online world.Privacy Toolkit: An international business guide for policymakers is aimed at governments seeking an innovative approach to privacy that balances the needs of governments, individuals and the economy as a whole. It outlines guiding principles for privacy that draw upon the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development privacy guidelines, and suggests practical ways to put the principles to work.
ICC fully supports the fundamental right to privacy and encourages businesses to comply with national and international privacy rules. But working with governments to implement privacy protection requires early policy input into how privacy rules are created while keeping in mind that overly restrictive or conflicting privacy requirements can be a big barrier to international business.Privacy Toolkit was developed to communicate the business approach to privacy protection and to serve as a guide for governments developing their own policies. It outlines the characteristics and benefits of flexible privacy protection regimes that are built into business processes.
The booklet was prepared by the ICC Commission on E-Business, IT and Telecoms.
Christopher Kuner, Partner, Hunton & Williams, Brussels, and Chair of ICC's data protection task force, said: "Privacy and business competitiveness are not either/or options. Appropriate privacy protection is a business enabler, not a barrier. But it's an ongoing process that needs to be responsive to new technology, business methods and opportunities.
"Flexibility is essential. Privacy Toolkit shows that the most important aspect of privacy protection is not how it is achieved, but simply that it works."
The booklet also includes a series of steps for governments to achieve appropriate and effective privacy protection regimes. Following Privacy Toolkit recommendations will ensure that the resulting privacy regime serves both business and the consumer without running the risk of stifling development, innovation and growth.
Other titles available in the ICC Tools for E-Business series are:
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Information security assurance for executives
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Putting it right: Best practices for customer redress in online business
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Resolving disputes online: Best practices for Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) in B2C and C2C transactions
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Securing your business: Information security issues and resources for small and entrepreneurial companies
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Telecoms liberalization: An international business guide for policymakers.