The reform of Hong Kong’s Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap.486) (the PDPO) is back on the agenda. In our earlier post in 2020, we reported that the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau published a discussion paper (the Discussion Paper) seeking the Legislative Council’s Panel on Constitutional Affairs’ (the Panel) views on proposed changes to the … Continue reading
As data breaches and cyber attacks continue to surge and attackers become more sophisticated, organisations are well aware that the need for robust data security measures is becoming increasingly important. In Hong Kong, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (the PCPD) recently published a Guidance Note on Data Security Measures for Information … Continue reading
The Attorney General’s Department released its Privacy Act Review report on 16 February 2023, that includes the broad suite of reforms you would expect to bring Australia’s privacy laws in to line with both international standards and the reality of our data-based economy. These include enhanced data subject rights and increased accountability requirements for organisations collecting and … Continue reading
Major privacy law reform in Australia gathered pace this week, with newly tabled legislation proposing to significantly increase penalties for privacy breaches, among other reforms. Now is the time to start asking questions In preparation for these reforms, companies that collect and process personal information should be asking the following questions: Do we know what … Continue reading
The long awaited details with respect to cross border data transfer under the China Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) have very recently been published by the Chinese authorities. The details are set out in three documents: final Certification Guidelines for Cross Border Data Transfer (网络安全标准实践指南 – 个人信息跨境处理活动安全认证规范 “) (“Certification Guidelines“) released on 24 June 2022; … Continue reading
Introduction Significant changes to the law with respect to security of critical infrastructure in Australia, including enhanced cybersecurity incident reporting requirements and the inclusion of further asset classes have been passed. On 22 November 2021, the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2021 (Bill) passed both houses of the federal parliament of Australia and will … Continue reading
This article was co-authored with India Bennett. After months of anticipation regarding the ongoing review of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Federal Government has galvanized the Australian privacy landscape with two significant developments. Firstly, the Government has released a discussion paper about the reform of the Privacy Act. The discussion paper considers stakeholder feedback on the issues paper released in October 2020 … Continue reading
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released the draft Security Review Measures for Cross-Border Data Transfer (the Draft Security Review Measures) for public comments on 29 October 2021 – shortly before the effective date of the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), 1 November 2021. The three pillars of China’s cyber security and data legislation – … Continue reading
The Singapore High Court and the Hong Kong District Court have both considered the right to compensation for injury to feelings in two recent cases involving misuse of personal data but arrived at different conclusions. Singapore: In Bellingham, Alex v. Reed, Michael, Mr. Bellingham obtained the email addresses of his former employers’ customers without their … Continue reading
The Personal Data (Privacy) (Amendment) Bill 2021 (the Bill) aimed at combatting doxxing in Hong Kong was passed on 29 September 2021. As discussed in our earlier post, the Bill amends the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) by: introducing offences to criminalize doxxing acts; empowering the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (the Commissioner) to conduct … Continue reading
China passed its Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) on 20 August 2021. This is China’s first omnibus data protection law, and will take effect from 1 November 2021 allowing companies just over two months to prepare themselves. The PIPL is a game changer for any company with data or business in China. It will add … Continue reading
China passed its Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) on 20 August 2021. The new law will take effect from 1 November 2021 allowing companies just over 2 months to prepare themselves. The full text has not been made public yet. In addition, China published the Provisions on the Administration of Security of Automobile Data (For … Continue reading
China’s Cyber Security Law (CSL), enacted in 2016, requires operators of critical information infrastructure (CII) to follow a number of enhanced security obligations, including storing within China all personal information and important data collected or generated during their operations in China. Given the more onerous obligation on CII operators, we are constantly asked the same … Continue reading
China’s much anticipated Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) is very likely to pass this month after the conclusion of the 30th meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, which is to be held in Beijing on 17-20 August. This follows the enactment earlier this year of the Data Security Law (DSL), which … Continue reading
The Personal Data (Privacy) (Amendment) Bill 2021 (the Bill) was gazetted today, 16 July 2021. The Bill aims to combat doxxing acts through (i) criminalisation of doxxing acts; (ii) empowering the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data to conduct criminal investigation and institute prosecution for doxxing cases; and (iii) conferring on the Commissioner statutory powers to … Continue reading
The Hong Kong Government is proposing amendments to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (the “PDPO”) to combat doxxing acts. On 17 May 2021, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (the “CMAB”) published a discussion paper on the proposed amendments to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance to combat doxxing acts (LC Paper No. CB(4)974/20-21(03)) (the “Paper”). … Continue reading
As countries around the globe continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, contact tracing apps continue to evolve and be developed. On November 16, 2020, the Hong Kong government is launching a voluntary contact tracing app. The app, known as LeaveHomeSafe, will enable users to record the date and time they visited participating venues by scanning … Continue reading
May 12, 2020 Norton Rose Fulbright today launched its survey analysing regulatory and policy issues applicable to COVID-19 contact tracing and related tracking technology across 18 jurisdictions. The global survey explores key issues across Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Indonesia, Russia, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, The Netherlands, Turkey, UAE, UK and … Continue reading
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen governments across the world restricting civil liberties and movement to unprecedented levels. To aid the safe lifting of current public health restrictions, new technologies are being developed and rolled out to automate labour intensive tasks critical to containing the spread of the virus, such as contact tracing. Contact tracing applications … Continue reading
Background The Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019) (PDPA) was published on 27 May 2019 in Thailand’s Government Gazette and became effective the following day. However, most of the operational provisions, including provisions relating to the rights of a data subject, the obligations of a data controller and the penalties for non-compliance, will become … Continue reading
The discussion paper on the proposed changes to Hong Kong’s Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap.486) (the PDPO) was debated by the Legislative Council’s Panel on Constitutional Affairs’ (the Panel) on 20 January. The proposals set out in LC Paper. No. CB(2) 512/19-20(03) (the Paper) are summarised in our earlier post.… Continue reading
2019 saw continued growth and change in data protection and cyber-security across the Asia-Pacific. Following the implementation of the GDPR in May, 2018, many jurisdictions moved to review and strengthen existing data privacy and cyber-security laws. In addition, 2019 saw regulators publishing findings in respect of some of the largest data incidents of 2018. We … Continue reading
Written by Partner Anna Gamvros and Associate Libby Ryan, both based in the Hong Kong office. Earlier this week, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (the CMAB) released its discussion paper (LC Paper. No. CB(2) 512/19-20(03) (the Paper) seeking the Legislative Council’s Panel on Constitutional Affairs’ (the Panel) views on proposed changes to the Personal … Continue reading
Data protection laws in Asia continue to be introduced and updated. One of the most recent developments in South East Asia is in Thailand. On 22 May 2018, the Thai Cabinet approved in principle a revised draft of Thailand’s first personal data protection act (Draft Act). This Draft Act is currently under consideration by the … Continue reading