NPC probes Ms. Earth organizer over data privacy issue

FILE: Miss Earth Canada Jaime VandenBerg: ““I went through almost two weeks of sexual harassment before anything was done about it.” (Photo: Miss Earth/Facebook)

MANILA — The National Privacy Commission (NPC) is looking into possible data privacy violations by Carousel Productions, Inc., the organizer of Miss Earth beauty pageant, following allegations of sexual harassment.

NPC issued a letter to the pageant organizer on Tuesday, asking the company to explain how one of its sponsors managed to obtain the mobile phone number of a contestant without her consent.

Last week, Miss Earth-Canada Jaime Yvonne Vandenberg accused a pageant sponsor of calling her to ask for sexual favors, after somehow obtaining her phone number.

Miss Earth 2018 candidates of England and Guam also said that they were sexually harassed by one of the sponsors.

Moreover, the Commission also learned that Carousel Productions has no Data Protection Officer (DPO) registered with the NPC.

Under the Data Privacy Act of 2012, all companies are required to designate a DPO, whose function is to ensure the protection of personal data collected from both employees and customers.

“The NPC’s database shows no record of the organizer, its Data Protection Officer, nor details of its data processing system. This signifies potential non-compliance with the Data Privacy Act and implies possible negligence in adhering to data protection standards set by the Commission,” the NPC stated.

“When personal data is not safeguarded properly, problems would definitely arise and oftentimes escalate out of proportion. And the first step in doing that is to appoint a DPO, as required by law. Every organization has to have someone whose job it is to ensure that the personal information they have been entrusted with remains private and safe from potential misuse,” said NPC Chairman Raymund Liboro.

The Commission has given Carousel Productions five days upon receiving its letter to answer queries.