Media Statements
Media Statement - Singapore Meets Hong Kongon Data Privacy Protection and Collaboration
Date: 13 September 2018
Singapore Meets Hong Kong
on Data Privacy Protection and Collaboration
The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong (Privacy Commissioner), Mr Stephen Kai-yi WONG, received a delegation from the Personal Data Protection Commission, Singapore (PDPC) on 11 September 2018 to exchange views on personal data privacy issues of mutual concern. The delegation was led by the Deputy Commissioner of the PDPC, Mr Zee-kin YEONG.
The Privacy Commissioner welcomed Mr Yeong and his delegation, which comprised the Director of Policy, Technology and Trustmark Ms Evelyn GOH, Director of Customer Services and Investigation Mr Jason TAN, and two senior executives.
During the meeting, the Privacy Commissioner and the senior staff members of his office introduced to the delegation the office’s latest initiatives and developments, including the review of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, Laws of Hong Kong (Cap. 486), the Privacy Management Programme (PMP) and the project on the implementation of the PMP in the Government, and a consultancy project that will help organisations in Hong Kong to embrace data ethics as a corporate social responsibility.
In turn, Mr Yeong and his team shared Singapore’s data protection developments and initiatives in particular on Singapore’s review of the Personal Data Protection Act, the Do Not Call Registry Framework, Data Protection Officer capability development initiatives and cross-border data transfer.
Since taking office in August 2015, the Privacy Commissioner has been committed to cultivating “Protect, Respect Personal Data” culture in Hong Kong by engaging and incentivising stakeholders. He added that the review of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance has been one of his ongoing strategic initiatives - to assess whether the current legislation is proportionate and adequate to serve its legitimate purpose of protecting personal data privacy in the wider context of the development of the global privacy landscape, particularly with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) having come into effect in May 2018.
The Privacy Commissioner said Hong Kong and Singapore have established a working connection in global personal data protection, as both are members of international organisations such as the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA) and the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN). He believed that this bilateral exchange would further establish closer collaboration between the two data protection authorities with mutual respect and in the interest of the two jurisdictions, in particular, with stronger cooperation in exchange of expertise and enforcement information, carrying out joint research projects, and handling cross-jurisdictional cybersecurity and data breach cases.
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Photos:
The Privacy Commissioner, Mr Stephen Kai-yi WONG (left), meets the Deputy Commissioner of the Personal Data Protection Commission, Singapore, Mr Zee-kin YEONG (right), at the office of the Privacy Commissioner for Persona Data, Hong Kong to exchange views on issues of mutual concern.
The Privacy Commissioner, Mr Stephen Kai-yi WONG (first row, third right), is pictured with the Deputy Commissioner of the PDPC, Mr Zee-kin YEONG (first row, third left), the Director of Policy, Technology and Trustmark, Ms Evelyn GOH (first row, second left), Director of Customer Services and Investigation, Mr Jason TAN (second row, second left), Assistant Director of Policy, Ms Yan-ping KONG (first row, first left), and Manager of Technology, Mr Elgin KOH (second row, first left), after the meeting.