Media Statements

Privacy Awareness Week 2015 – “Privacy Matters”

(3 May 2015) Today the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (the “PCPD”) launched the annual Privacy Awareness Week (“PAW”).

PAW is an international event jointly held by members of the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities ¹ (APPA) (www.appaforum.org) to raise awareness of the importance of protecting personal data privacy. The theme of PAW 2015 in Hong Kong is "Privacy Matters". The event is supported by 111 partner secondary schools and over 500 members of the Data Protection Officers' Club.

“Privacy Matters”

At the inauguration ceremony of PAW 2015 held today, the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Mr Allan Chiang said, “In an age where technology is evolving at such a rate that regulators can hardly catch up, personal data protection needs the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders. On the one hand, users should become more aware and savvy about personal data protection in general, and managing their online privacy in particular. On the other hand, businesses’ policies and practices as well as products and services must measure up to the privacy expectations of the users. They need to set the standards of privacy safeguards in the digital community that win customer trust and loyalty. They should consider privacy not an impediment to innovation and progress but, rather, a competitive differentiator.”

This year, the PCPD has specially invited a number of legislative councillors, professionals and celebrities to support the event and promote the message “Privacy Matters” through social media. They include: the Hon Charles Mok, the Hon Alice Mak, the Hon Ip Kinyuen; celebrity magician Mr Louis Yan, illustrator Ms Wingki Kwok and journalist Mr Ryan Lau. Ms Wingki Kwok has also created intricately hand-drawn illustrations for the PCPD to promote data-protection messages.

PAW 2015 Programmes

A wide range of promotional and educational activities, including campus promotions by student ambassadors, quiz contests, street magic shows, exhibitions and forums, will be held from 3 to 9 May to cater for the various needs of students, businesses and the general public. They are listed at Annex A; and more details are available at www.pcpd.org.hk/paw.

Meanwhile, the PCPD has launched a Facebook Page “Be SMART Online” (www.facebook.com/besmartonlinepcpd).

For details of the promotional activities of PAW 2015 held by other APPA members, please visit www.privacyawarenessweek.org.

TV News Feature on Personal Data Protection Competition

As part of the PAW 2015 inauguration ceremony, 14 awards were presented to the winning teams of a Personal Data Protection Competition, in which 724 Form one to six students from 69 secondary schools took part. The participants looked into the privacy issues they came across in everyday life and presented their findings in the form of a TV news feature. The results of the competition are attached at Annex B. The competition was part of the Student Ambassador for Privacy Protection Programme, which PCPD has organised annually for five consecutive years. This year, over 1,800 student ambassadors from 111 partner schools will be organising promotional activities in their schools through sharing sessions, campus TV broadcast, etc. They have all undergone privacy training by the PCPD in the past six months.