The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong (PCPD) Mr Stephen Kai-yi WONG today hosted the last public seminar in his five-year term. Entitled “Working Out for the New Data Ecosystem and Legal Frameworks”, the seminar was attended by more than 1,200 participants comprising privacy professionals, lawyers, bankers, corporate managers etc. and members of the public. Through video conferencing and live streaming on social media platforms, the PCPD explained various issues of personal data privacy, including the foundation of privacy, data bombing, the offences and exemptions under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO), data breach notification mechanism, recent developments in the global privacy landscape, the PDPO legislative reform and the emerging RegTech.
The PCPD said, “Looking back on my five-year term, the trend in the privacy landscape has evolved dramatically. For example, personal data has become an asset and data is collected ubiquitously, with the emergence of artificial intelligence alongside. All of these have aroused privacy and human rights concerns. Besides, data ethics have received much thought and consideration worldwide. Data protection laws are also responding to technological advancement. In this last public seminar of mine in my five-year term, I hope I could share the learnings gained and the work done during my five-year service to help all stakeholders “get fit” mentally and physically to embrace the novel challenges in the future.”
The PCPD stressed that in this digital economy, the landscape of personal data privacy protection has never stopped changing. No matter how fast the changes are, data protection principles have been built upon the firm foundational concept of privacy as a fundamental human right. Privacy is one of the fundamental human rights protected by various international declarations and local laws. At the same time, privacy and personal data protection regulations have been, and will continue to be, on the heels of technological development. Inevitably, the scope and definition of personal data would constantly evolve and expand. Therefore, the focus of legislation should be on protection, instead of data. As the boundary between data and personal data is increasingly blurred, we should focus on protecting individuals while facilitating the free flow of information.
Participants of the webinar can collect the most recent publications of the PCPD, including “From Principles to Practice – SME Personal Data Protection Toolkit”, “A Brief Summary on the Regulations in the Mainland of China Concerning Personal Information and Cybersecurity Involved in Civil and Commercial Affairs”, and “An Update on European Union General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (May 2020 Revised Edition)”. Copies are available while stock lasts.
Download the presentation materials of “Working Out for the New Data Ecosystem and Legal Frameworks”