Reform of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance - has the right
balance been struck?
The Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO)
was enacted in 1995 to protect privacy rights of individuals.
However, it is only in the past two years that privacy and data
protection issues have been in the public eye. The Privacy
Commissioner (PCO) has been increasingly active,
following what he has recently described as "a series of
privacy catastrophes". Please see our
Client Alert dated 3 November 2010 for comments on the Octopus
and Wing Lung cases.
Media attention and public concerns have provided further
impetus to the current efforts to reform the PDPO. After several
public consultations, the Hong Kong Government introduced proposed
amendments to the PDPO to Hong Kong lawmakers, by way of the
Personal Data (Privacy) (Amendment) Bill (Bill),
in July 2011. These amendments address a number of topical
issues: direct marketing, the unauthorised sale or disclosure
