NPC probing Jollibee’s holiday ads on Viber 

MANILA, Philippines – The National Privacy Commission (NPC) has sought explanations from Jollibee Foods Corp. and messaging platform Viber over a holiday advertising campaign, in which Jollibee-themed digital stickers appeared automatically whenever the word “Christmas” was used in chats. 

In a statement on Tuesday, the NPC acknowledged that Jollibee’s “Buo ang Saya ng Pasko” campaign had raised “questions regarding the boundaries of digital marketing and the unsolicited processing of personal data.”

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Specifically, the campaign raised eyebrows for appearing automatically within private chat interfaces. 

The NPC said it is still assessing whether the campaign involved the processing of data and, if so, whether it complied with the Data Privacy Act of 2012. 

Under the law, marketing campaigns involving personal data must comply with the principles of transparency, legitimate purpose and proportionality.

“In such cases, consent must be specific and freely given, and data subjects must be afforded the right to object to the processing of their information for direct marketing purposes,” the NPC said.