July 8, 2020 | less than a minute read

Singapore data protection officer information can be registered with national business regulator

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Charmian Aw

Counsel

Get in touch

Charmian Aw

Counsel

Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act requires that every organisation must designate at least one individual as its data protection officer, and must make such DPO's business contact information publicly available.

With effect from 28 March 2020, business entities that are registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA) can choose to register, and update, their DPO's business contact information on ACRA's BizFile portal, accessible at: https://www.bizfile.gov.sg/

Whilst it is not mandatory to register an organisation's DPO with ACRA, doing so will satisfy the organisation's accountability obligation to make available its DPO's business contact information to the public.

Reed Smith LLP is licensed to operate as a foreign law practice in Singapore under the name and style, Reed Smith Pte Ltd (hereafter collectively, "Reed Smith"). Where advice on Singapore law is required, we will refer the matter to and work with Reed Smith's Formal Law Alliance partner in Singapore, Resource Law LLC, where necessary.

While the PDPA does not require the mandatory registration of a company’s DPO, it requires the DPO’s BCI to be made available to the public. Given that ACRA BizFile+ is generally accessible by the public, a company that registers its DPO in the BizFile⁺ would have met this obligation of the PDPA.