San Francisco, California - The Federal Trade Commission hosted the semi-annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA) Forum in San Francisco on June 25-26, where members discussed global privacy trends, exchanged ideas about how they approach privacy protection in their own countries, and sought opportunities for cooperation on education and enforcement activities across the Asia Pacific region.

Following a members-only session on June 25, the second day featured discussions with representatives from the private and public sectors on topics including the U.S. multi-faceted approach to privacy and data security; research on the collection of personal information from Internet-connected devices; privacy challenges facing startups and small businesses; and cross-border data flows.

The APPA Forum is a semi-annual event for privacy authorities in the Asia Pacific region. It gives authorities an opportunity to share information about privacy and regulatory trends, collaborate on enforcement practices, and discuss emerging technologies and privacy issues. APPA members include authorities from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macao, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and the United States.