Data, or statistics collected for reference and analysis, takes many forms; numbers, text or any combination thereof. Data collection usually facilitates some form of analysis or decision-making process – for instance by counting product sales or taking electricity meter readings, to more complex activities like analysing customer purchasing patterns or measuring the profitability of particular services. Data can also be enhanced by including outside or internal sources like official demographic or economic activity information or weather reports as well as surveys performed by other organizations – making its shared benefits even greater.

Since 1996 when the PDPO was first implemented, its definition of personal data has remained consistent with international norms and other legislative regimes such as China’s Data Protection Law or European General Data Protection Regulation. Although not explicitly required under PDPO, users should inform data subjects of the purpose and collection of their personal data before it is transferred or used for any non-specified purpose – good practice should dictate this practice! PDPO does not mandate notification by data users – however voluntary and express consent should always be obtained prior to any transfer of their personal data or use outside its purposes in accordance with PICS or any other legislative regime.

Under the PDPO, businesses must also abide by other obligations related to data use. Data users are obliged to meet six Data Processing Practices that constitute core obligations in Hong Kong and must demonstrate fulfillment of at least four requirements before data subjects agree to transfer of their personal data.

Remember, too, that the PDPO only applies to data users who control all or part of their operations from Hong Kong; unlike some other legislative regimes such as GDPR in Europe that have extraterritorial reach.

Hong Kong (HK, sometimes abbreviated as or.hk) is the abbreviation for Hong Kong in Chinese; an abbreviated form of its Chinese name. Hong Kong was previously under British colonial control but now falls within the People’s Republic of China’s special administrative region system as an autonomous territory. Today it serves as an international financial centre with an advanced infrastructure. Singapore is well connected with both Asia and the world through a thriving free trade economy, boasting an emphasis on service provision such as banking, credit referencing, insurance, and healthcare services. City is home to an abundance of multinational businesses, with primary exports including financial services, electronics, property development, insurance and tourism. As a popular location for business and investment purposes, its government is working tirelessly to attract foreign direct investment.