Personal Data (Privacy) Law in Hong Kong – A Practical Guide on Compliance

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collected, is capable of encompassing the form in which relevant information is
conveyed as well as the substance of that information”.
Giving Misleading Information to Obtain a Credit Report from a Credit Reference Agency
5.54 The meaning of fairness in the context of personal data privacy protection can also be
illustrated by the case of collecting consumer credit data pursuant to the Code of
Practice on Consumer Credit Data issued by the Commissioner. Clause 2.11 of the Code
states that for requests made to access the database of a credit reference agency by a
credit provider, the credit provider shall confirm the purpose of access to the data in
order to prevent arbitrary or indiscriminate access to sensitive personal data.
5.55 The Code was revised in 2011 to permit credit providers to access the mortgage count38
of an individual through a credit report under prescribed circumstances.39 Clause 2.11 of
the Code was extended to impose an obligation on the credit provider to confirm the
purpose of access to the mortgage count data.
5.56 The Code also explicitly prohibits40 access to the consumer credit data of an individual
by a credit provider for the purpose of offering or advertising the availability of goods,
facilities or services to such individual.
Collection of Personal Data from the Public Domain
5.57 The Ordinance does not exempt the application of DPPs to personal data collected
from the public domain, such as public telephone directories, members’ directory
maintained by a trade or professional body or public registers maintained by various
government departments. It may be tempting for a data user, in particular a direct
marketer, to harvest personal data from the public domain and use it in direct marketing
activities. Some relevant cases decided by the Commissioner or heard by the AAB are
discussed below.
5.58 In a complaint about the receipt of car park promotional offers sent by a car park
management company with the complainant’s name, address and vehicle registration
number, the Commissioner carried out an investigation. 41 The evidence before the
Commissioner showed that the company had arranged its staff to conduct searches at
the Transport Department for vehicle owners’ registered particulars. The Transport
Department required applicants for the Certificate of Particulars of Motor Vehicle to
certify in the application form that the information provided was true and complete.
Under the relevant ordinance,42 any person who makes any statement which is false for
38 “Mortgage count” means the number of mortgage loans under which an individual is a borrower, mortgagor and/or
guarantor.
39 Paragraph 2.9A of the Code.
40 Paragraph 2.12 of the Code.
41 See Investigation Report No.12-3428, available on the Website:
42 Section 111(3) of the Road Traffic Ordinance, Cap 374, Laws of Hong Kong.