Date:24 July 2020
Privacy Commissioner Stephen Kai-yi WONG reviews his 5-Year Work
“At the outset, let me say thanks for the kind words expressed to me in the Government press statement on the appointment of the new Privacy Commissioner.
Many thanks to Chief Executive for giving me the opportunity and it was a distinct honour and pleasure for me, being a member of public service and human rights legal profession, to be able to join my colleagues during the last five years, to diligently discharge our duties in consistently making deliberations and decisive determinations to enforce the law fairly, upholding the Rule of Law cardinal principle of “everybody is equal before the law”. We sought to protect personal data privacy and at the same time facilitate ICT and economic development, public and private organisations alike. Whilst we forged a closer and more amicable working relationship with organisations, we helped cultivate the value of and responsibility for respecting personal data and privacy as a culture. We managed to respond to enquiries from members of the public and the media in a timely manner. We proudly hosted an annual meeting of the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners (renamed Global Privacy Assembly), which was acclaimed to be the most successful one so far. Being appointed as a Co-chair of the Permanent Working Group on Ethics and Data Protection in Artificial Intelligence of the Global Privacy Assembly would indicate that we are expected to contribute to shaping the international privacy landscape in the longer run.
In the case of privacy right protection, compliance with the law alone is no permanent effective fix, worse still where the law is not updated. The law must be complemented by the application and practice of ethics, which by design aim to advocate respect and build trust amongst all stakeholders.
Last but certainly not least, I must register my heartfelt salute to my dutiful colleagues, who have worked shoulder to shoulder with me to embrace the challenges and difficulties. I wish them a better balance between work life and family life in the days to come.”
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