PCPD News Issue 30

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PCPD News 私隱專員公署通訊 • Issue no. 30
the family, interacting intimately with
all family members day in and day out.
The Commissioner therefore accepts
the agencies’ posting on their websites
most of the personal data provided
by the job applicants, including their
pho t os , a s t hey he l p p r ospec t ive
employers screen helpers. However, the
posting of the job applicants' names,
addresses, and passport and/or HKID
Card numbers is not acceptable because
it is inconceivable that this data serves
an instrumental role in the prospective
employer's initial selection process.
For the same reason, the display on their
websites of the personal data (e.g. name,
age and occupation) of the job applicants'
family members and past employers'
names and addresses is not acceptable.
The Commissioner commented, "Unlike
presenting the job seeker's profile to
the prospective employer in person
when the latter visits the agencies'
offices, displaying her personal data
online allows unrestricted access
by unidentified third parties, who
may copy the data, retain the data
permanently, and integrate or correlate
the data with other fragmented data
about the same person from different
s ou r ce s . The po s s i b l e s econda r y
u s e o f s u ch d a t a i s b e yo n d t h e
ave rage pe r s on ' s an t i c i pa t i on o r
comprehension, and definitely very
difficult to control."
Remedial Actions and Enforcement
Action
During the course of the investigation,
the Commissioner was pleased to note
that certain remedial action had been
taken by some of the employment
agencies for foreign domestic helpers.
To s e c u r e f u l l c omp l i a n c e w i t h
the Ordinance, the Commissioner
served enforcement notices to the 10
employment agencies and the five
tutorial service website operators,
directing them to take steps to remedy
the contraventions for which remedial
actions were outstanding, for example,
r e p l a c i n g t h e n ame s o f t h e j o b
applicants on the Internet by reference
numbers, and prevent the recurrence of
all known contraventions.
Organisations and consumers who
engage in e-commerce and other online
services must be aware of the associated
privacy risks, such as data breaches
and unanticipated secondary use of
the data by unknown third parties,
including unwanted communication
and identity theft. Website operators
must ensure that they are capturing
and using personal data for reasonable
business purposes. Web consumers
accustomed to submitting personal
information to various service providers
in order to obtain desired services must
be more vigilant about providing such
information.
"I would further advise that as a matter
of best practice (not just compliance
with the provisions of the Ordinance),
employment agencies should first
obtain the consent of job applicants
for the online display of their personal
data even though objectively the data
is relevant to employee selection by
prospective employers. Going this extra
mile is recommended in view of the
privacy risks associated with posting
information online and the sensitivity
of some of the information posted.
Employment agencies should respect
the choice made by the job applicants
and refrain from uploading information
an applicant does not want online,” the
Commissioner remarked.
I n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h t h e t r a d e
a s s o c i a t i o n s , t h r e e e d u c a t i o n a l
seminars will be held by the PCPD
in December 2014 and January 2015
for all operators of the employment
agencies for foreign domestic helpers.
Full Investigation Reports:
(The Tutorial Service Agency Websites)
commissioners_findings/investigation_
reports/files/R14_19675_e.pdf
(The Employment Agencies for Foreign
Domestic Helpers)
english/enforcement/commissioners_
findings/investigation_reports/files/
R14_1382_e.pdf
視察報告建議勞工處就業服務優化個人資料系統
Inspection Report Conducted to Assist the Labour Department's Employment
Service Improve its Personal Data System
公署根據條例第 36 條，在 2014 年 3 月
至 7 月期間視察勞工處就業服務的個人
資料系統，並於 11 月 20 日發表報告。
鑒於很多其他政府部門及公營機構提供
公共服務，都會採用類近勞工處的方式
來收集及處理個人資料，私隱專員建議
這些部門及機構可以本報告作為借鏡。
視 察 報 告：
enforcement/commissioners_findings/
inspection_reports/files/R14_3849_c.pdf
From March to July 2014, the PCPD
inspected the personal data system of
the employment service of the Labour
Department (“LD”), pursuant to section
36 of the Ordinance, and released
a report on 20 November 2014. The
Commissioner pointed out that the LD’s
method of collecting and processing
the personal data of members of the
public for delivering public services was
typical of many government departments
and public organisations, who are
encouraged to take reference from this
report to ensure compliance with the
requirements under the Ordinance.
T h e I n s p e c t i o n R e p o r t : www.
pcpd.org.hk/english/enforcement/
commissioners_findings/inspection_
reports/files/R14_3849_e.pdf