MANILA - Tech giant Google said it will support the new Global Cross Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) system which is a movement by jurisdictions and companies to protect users' privacy rights, Google Chief privacy officer Keith Enright said Thursday.

The movement is an important step in ensuring privacy is protected as global regulatory requirements evolve and as users rely more and more on the internet, Enright told Asian media in a briefing.

"What we’re trying to work with our partners in government, as well as with others in industry, with efforts like the global CBPR system, is to drive an interoperable framework that will allow companies like Google to continue moving data across jurisdictions as necessary to support products and services that people come to expect when they’re using the internet," he added.

Although the CBPR is not meant to replace any existing rules or treaties between jurisdictions, it would ensure collaboration to provide an enabling environment and protection across participating jurisdictions, he said.

The Philippines' National Privacy Commission said Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, and the United States of America currently participate in the APEC CBPR System.

BUILDING TRUST

Enright said Google is also continuously working on innovating its privacy protection tools to ensure continued service and user trust.

He reiterated Google's commitment to phase out third-party cookies.

In a 2021 blogpost, Google said the user data collection gathered through third-party cookies has led to the decline in trust with 72 percent of people said they felt that what they do online is being tracked by advertisers.

When asked how to they balance data protection and revenues, the official said "we put the user first."

"We have made it clear that we would be deprecating third party cookies when we have an appropriate level of engagement such that the publisher and advertiser ecosystem can continue monetizing content to support the free and open internet. There are several considerations that we’re working through to ensure that we’re proceeding thoughtfully and responsibly," Enright said.

"We design every product and every feature to have the strongest privacy and security protection so users will trust google and continue to use our products and services. If we do that the revenue will follow," he added.

However, no timeline was disclosed as to when this will be completed.

"We want to reduce the amount of information we're collecting and retaining without compromising on functionality and usability of services that users expect when they're working with Google," Enright said.

Google, like many tech giants, has faced regulatory probes in several countries regarding its services. Meanwhile, some jurisdictions have admitted that current laws should keep up with the changing times

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