In order to strengthen the protection of cross-border privacy, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has become the Privacy Enforcement Authority (PEA) of Taiwan. The National Development Council (NDC) coordinated with various ministries to apply for membership in the Global Cooperation Arrangement for Privacy Enforcement (Global CAPE) at the end of 2023. In March of this year, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan, the administrator of Global CAPE, notified Taiwan that the application had been approved. In the future, it is expected that the Global CAPE will promote cross-border privacy enforcement cooperation with other international partners to strengthen the protection of citizens’ personal information.

The Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules Forum (Global CBPR Forum), of which we are a founding member, has always been committed to promoting the flow of trusted information and reducing unnecessary barriers to digital trade. With the accelerating trend of global digitization, the demand for cross-border data transmission has increased dramatically, and the occurrence of personal data infringement incidents often involves factors outside of the country, which requires mutual assistance and cooperation among cross-border jurisdictions in order to effectively combat wrongdoing and prevent infringements from expanding. To this end, the Global CBPR Forum announced the Global CAPE in October last year. In addition to the Global CBPR Forum members, the Global CBPR Forum also invites PEAs to join in order to promote inter-jurisdictional cooperation in enforcement.

In addition to Taiwan, other jurisdictions that have joined the Global CAPE include the United States, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Mexico, the Dubai Financial Center, and Bermuda. In the future, the PEA of Taiwan is expected to cooperate with various international partners through the Global CAPE on cross-border enforcement, information sharing, and professional exchanges regarding privacy or personal information protection, to further strengthen the protection of the public’s right to information privacy, and to converge with the latest international legal and practical trends, so as to lay a solid foundation for the revitalization of cross-border digital trade, and to facilitate the development of Taiwan’s thriving digital economy.