NPC Issues Advisory Opinion on the Recording and Uploading of Online Classes

On March 25, 2022, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) issued Advisory Opinion No. 2022-014 clarifying whether the recording and uploading of online classes were a violation of privacy law.

 

The Commission confirmed that the uploading and storage of the recording of an online class involved the processing of personal data. As a result, any activity in relation to online class must be in accordance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (DPA).

 

Considering the contractual school-student relationship, the NPC stated that any processing of personal information to fulfill the obligations of parties within an “educational framework” was permissible in accordance with Section 12(b) of the DPA and in line with the academic freedom granted to these institutions.

 

With respect to the processing of sensitive personal information in this “educational framework,” the NPC stated that the processing was still permissible under Section 13(a) of the DPA due to the underlying consent in the contract between the school and student.

 

The NPC added that “educational institutions may [even] process personal data to achieve the purposes within its educational framework without the need for consent of the data subject.” Thus, “[i]t is […] of utmost importance that the school delineates all processing operations, carefully identifying those that are core to the educational framework and those outside of it (e.g. marketing or public relations purposes).”

 

The Commission reminded schools, however, to uphold the principles of transparency and the data subject’s right to information. It also reminded schools to implement policies covering the processing of online class recordings through appropriate privacy policies.

 

The full advisory opinion can be accessed here.