More DPOs needed in the near future, and right now

The role of the Data Protection Officer has been in the spotlight recently.

In recent months, new personal data protection laws have been passed and have come full into force in countries across ASEAN, including Thailand and Indonesia. The laws in both countries require organisations to appoint a data protection officer, or DPO, in order to be compliant.

This followed announcements by regulators in the Philippines and Singapore, where DPO appointments are mandatory, that clarified and raised the limits of administrative fines that may be imposed upon those who fall foul of data protection laws in both jurisdictions.

In Singapore, administrative fines can now amount to over SGD1 million as the maximum financial penalty is now 10% of annual local turnover, should that turnover be above SGD10 million.

And in recent weeks, the tech giant Twitter, now owned by the richest person in the world, Elon Musk, after a well-publicised takeover, has seen its chief privacy officer and DPO leave the company. The firm then notified the Irish Data Protection Commission that an “acting DPO” had been appointed.

Demand for DPOs ramping up in ASEAN

In ASEAN, the five founding members – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines – now all have data protection laws passed or in force.

According to Straits Interactive CEO Kevin Shepherdson, Vietnam and Brunei are expected to launch their own data protection laws in 2023. He said that this would mean that all the major ASEAN members, with the exception of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, would have data protection laws in place.

“From a socio-cultural perspective, protecting personal information and the privacy of individuals will firmly become a business culture in ASEAN,” he added. “Companies need to respect the rights of individuals in terms of how their personal information is being collected, used, disclosed and stored.”

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The outlook for aspiring or current data protection professionals

In terms of the DPO job role, what does this all mean?

For countries where the DPO is mandatory, expect robust demand for DPOs, where certified and experienced data protection professionals would be even more sought after. Currently, data protection and data governance roles are regularly posted, and reposted, on job search portals in both Singapore and the Philippines.

But even where the law does not make such an appointment mandatory, it is still necessary for organisations to appoint someone to take such responsibility.

“If no one is responsible specifically for data protection programme implementation it won’t get done,” said Shepherdson. “It follows that the role of DPO, whether mandatory or not, will continue to be in hot demand, which bodes well for this relatively new profession.”

“I was recently in Indonesia, where regulators are forecasting a shortage of 100,000 DPOs, and in Thailand, where I received the same feedback about growing demand for DPOs.”

For queries on the courses most suited for your career, contact us or email courses@straitsinteractive.com to get your questions answered.

Keeping up with career and training resources

Here on the DPEX Network, we curate data protection jobs from Singapore, the Philippines and the region on a regular basis.

We also offer professional certification in data protection and data governance, in partnership with certification bodies such as EXIN, IAPP, OCEG, PECB, as well as educational institutions including the Asian Institute of Management, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Singapore Management University.

Please sign up for a free DPEX Network membership to get updated on the latest career trends and competency roadmaps for you to embark on a new career or upskill as a data privacy professional.

You will also have access to like-minded professionals and data privacy experts who can offer advice and answer your queries.