On Monday 20 January, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, jointly with the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, presented a paper outlining topics for review of the PDPO to the members of the Legislative Council Panel on Constitutional Affairs. The CMAB and the PCPD are expected to take panel members’ feedback on the PDPO Review Paper and undertake further in-depth study of the issues with a view to making specific proposals for legislative reform in due course.
Tag Archives: PDPO
Hong Kong Privacy Regulator Issues 2015 Report, Outlines 2016 Focus
On 26 January, Hong Kong’s Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data published his annual report on 2015 complaints and enforcement activity under the Personal Data Privacy Ordinance. The report reveals that 871,000 Hong Kong individuals were affected by data breaches in 2015, compared with 47,000 in 2014. The report is noteworthy that the number of reported breaches continues to increase at a rapid pace notwithstanding the fact that Hong Kong’s data breach notification regime is at the moment a voluntary one. The report is also notable for setting out the Commissioner’s statement of priorities for 2016.
Hong Kong Privacy Commissioner Issues Guidance on Cross-Border Data Transfers
On 29 December, 2014, Hong Kong’s Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data published a guidance note concerning the potential implementation of section 33 of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, which would restrict the export of personal data from Hong Kong. In a recent client alert, partner Mark Parsons and associate Peter Colegate from the Hogan Lovells Hong Kong office explore the Commissioner’s understanding of how section 33 would be implemented, including some important nuances that are particularly relevant to multi-national businesses operating in Hong Kong and the wider region.
Privacy Complaints Up 48% in Hong Kong in 2013: Are Businesses Prepared?
The privacy enforcement in Hong Kong under its data protection law, the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, ramped up significantly last year. Hong Kong’s Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data received 1,792 complaints in 2013, a record high. The figures show a 48% increase in complaints filed and more than a doubling of the number of enforcement notices issued by the Commissioner, with 25 enforcement notices issued in 2013 against 11 in 2012. 78% of all complaints were made against the private sector and in particular the financial, telecommunications and property sectors. The Commissioner has confirmed that a key focus for 2014 will be to increase its enforcement efforts.
In Hong Kong, When Is Public Data Actually Private Data?
Somewhat of a furor has been caused in Hong Kong by the decision of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data to issue an enforcement notice to stop a company from supplying data on individuals obtained from publicly available litigation and bankruptcy records via a smartphone application, claiming that the company “seriously invaded” the privacy of those individuals.