Datahk is an essential driver of innovation, economic prosperity and social wellbeing in Hong Kong. Hong Kong stands at the forefront of global efforts to establish an ethical data economy by capitalising on our openness and rule of law. GBAITA President and iBDG Founding Chairman Allen Yeung stated that in order to develop digital economy successfully it is crucial that professionals with experience in data analysis operations and regulatory supervision can be developed locally.

Hong Kong’s Personal Information Protection Policy (PDPO) of 1996 was one of the earliest pieces of legislation that addressed data transfer. Section 33 was intended to prevent personal data being transferred outside Hong Kong without consent or in violation of other laws; while this provision may appear outdated in comparison with modern legislative regimes, it nonetheless addresses an important concern.

Under the PDPO, personal data refers to any information pertaining to an identifiable or identifiable individual and this definition aligns with that used in other regulatory regimes around the world, such as China’s Personal Information Protection Law or European Economic Area General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).

PDPO prohibits any new uses for collected personal data without first receiving voluntary and express consent of its subject – this includes transfers outside Hong Kong for use such as direct marketing or sales activities.

Individuals need protections like this one as the use of personal data for direct marketing activities may constitute a violation of their privacy rights. Direct marketing practices remain under investigation by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner; most recently in September 2021 an estate agent was found guilty of collecting and using someone’s personal data for direct marketing activities without complying with their request to stop. As punishment he or she was fined HK$500,000 as well as serving three years imprisonment.

Equinix Hong Kong IBX data centers offer top-of-the-line technical solutions with resiliency at their core, ideal for data transfer in Hong Kong. Our facilities are interconnected via cloud on-ramps to form a connected campus suitable for geographically distributed high availability deployments. Furthermore, HK1, HK2, and HK5 data centers feature liquid cooling with power-to-the-cage infrastructure for AI deployments.