Data is an indispensable asset and companies should prepare themselves to comply with any data transfer regulation that comes into effect. Padraig Walsh from Tanner De Witt’s Data Privacy Practice Group addresses some key points when transferring personal data out or into Hong Kong.

First principles can go a long way towards mitigating business risk and ensuring efficient compliance with data transfer regulations. First of all, data users must only collect personal data for legal reasons that directly relate to their function or activity and the personal data collected must be sufficient but not excessive in relation to said purposes.

Once collected, data users must inform data subjects explicitly of the purposes for which their personal data will be used and, where relevant, of classes of individuals to whom it may be disclosed. This obligation can be fulfilled by providing them with their Personal Information Collection Statement (PICS), with full and clear disclosure about these matters included within its contents.

Data users in Hong Kong must obtain voluntary and express consent before using personal data for new purposes that were not stated in its original PICS, or where using personal data involves different classes of people than was initially given consent for. This step is much less onerous than GDPR as this only applies where personal data is being used for something not specified there.

Data transfer regulation will continue to change alongside digital business and technological innovations, as technology evolves and digital businesses expand their operations. With greater regulatory oversight of data transfers and proactive data regulators’ enforcement of privacy laws. With the potential establishment of an international privacy framework looming large in its wake, regulation on this front may become more consistent across jurisdictions.

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