ISO/IEC 29187-1:2013 has been developed to support modelling generic international requirements for identifying and providing privacy protection of personal information throughout any kind of ICT-based learning transaction where the individual has the role of an individual learner. It provides users and designers with a methodology and tools addressing privacy protection and related requirements imposed by applicable jurisdictional domains.

ISO/IEC 29187-1:2013 takes the "learning operational view" (LOV) aspects based on the ISO/IEC 14662 Open-edi Reference Model (a freely available ISO standard) together with applicable ISO standards including ISO/IEC 15944-1 and ISO/IEC 15944‑5 (also available without charge) as well as many other international referenced specifications.

ISO/IEC 29187-1:2013 models the requirements of jurisdictional domains as external constraints upon the creation, use, interchange, and information life cycle management of personal information. ISO/IEC 29187-1:2013 addresses the specified context of public policy requirements of jurisdictional domains controlling the use of personal information (PI). These include regulations for consumer protection, privacy protection, individual accessibility, etc.

ISO/IEC 29187-1:2013 in a LET context identifies and expands upon eleven generic, primitive, international principles that have been associated with privacy protection requirements by international, regional, and UN member states. It models them with respect to the "collaboration space" of a learning transaction and commitment exchange involving an individual acting in the role of an individual learner. In a LET context, it provides principles and rules governing the establishment, management and use of identifiers of that individual, including the use of legally recognized names (LRNs), recognized individual identity (rii), and methods of non-identification, such as the use of anonymization and pseudonymization of personal information.

ISO/IEC 29187-1:2013 also sets out principles governing information lifecycle management (ILCM) as well as the rules and associated coded domains for obtaining informed consent for collection, specifying state changes, records retention, record deletion and related matters in support of privacy protection requirements.