Report on Activities - Privacy- Related Issues

Response to Specific Privacy-related Issues

Police's proposal to install CCTV systems in public places

In early 2002, the Police revealed a plan to install CCTV cameras in various public places. The purpose of so doing was to assist with crowd control and the prevention of crime. The plan is to introduce, as a pilot scheme, the installation of CCTV cameras in the Lan Kwai Fong area of Central District by mid 2002.

The announcement attracted considerable concern from various sectors of the community. There are particular concerns about the apparent lack of regulation on the use of CCTV cameras, the retention and use of videotaped records and the potential intrusion to privacy in places to which the public have largely free and unrestricted access.

Following the announcement of the CCTV installation plan by the Police, the PCPD took the initiative to write to the Commissioner of Police seeking further information regarding the plan. Subsequently, the Police advised that the plan was part of a public safety and security management system for the purpose of ensuring Hong Kong remained as one of the world's safest and most stable societies. The deployment of CCTV systems in the pilot scheme at Lan Kwai Fong will serve the primary purpose of enhancing and facilitating public safety and crowd management.

An important aspect of the PD(P)O is the requirement that relates to the "collection" principle. This requires that personal data shall be collected for a lawful purpose directly related to a function of the data user, that the collection of the data is necessary and that the data are collected by means that are lawful and fair in the circumstances of the case. In the context of the CCTV monitoring scheme, the PCPD advised the Police to give due consideration to this particular requirement of the PD(P)O.

In Hong Kong, surveillance cameras have been widely deployed in public places for many years. Common examples would be transportation facilities, car parks and shopping malls. In order to investigate Hong Kong citizens' attitudes towards the operation of video surveillance cameras in public places, the PCPD commissioned a research study in January 2002. In particular the PCPD are interested in the extent to which there is awareness and acceptance of video cameras in public places for security and other bona fide purposes. If there is general acceptance of the benefits of surveillance cameras in public places then the research will investigate whether recording and retaining the image of people, e.g. motorists exiting a car park, in any way modifies the attitudes expressed because of the privacy-related issues involved. The study will also research overseas experiences regarding the handling of privacy issues when operating video surveillance in public places.

The Financial Industry's Proposal on the sharing of Consumer Positive Credit Data

Over the past few years, changes in the domestic and external economic environment have adversely impacted upon the financial services sector of the Hong Kong economy. The situation facing banks, credit card issuers and other licensed bodies providing lines of credit is that the default rate on loans and credit card spending has risen significantly. There has also been an increase both in the number of cases of multiple delinquencies among borrowers and the number of bankruptcy cases. While there are probably many reasons for these developments, financial regulators and the financial industry have interpreted these trends as signaling a need for more vigorous credit assessment methodologies in consumer lending.

In January 2002, the Government convened a high-level Roundtable Discussion among industry representatives and government officials to discuss measures necessary to tackle the issues of consumer debt and bankruptcy. These discussions have resulted in a set of proposals seeking to extend the scope of consumer credit data to be shared by credit providers. The arguments advanced by the industry are that access to, and the use of, positive credit data of borrowers would enable credit providers to better understand the total credit exposure of their clients. This information would also assist credit providers in making more informed decisions about current and future lending.

Consumer advocates and the public expressed great concern over the proposal. They are concerned with the potential risk of unauthorized disclosure of their personal information to others for purposes unrelated to credit assessment, such as general insurers, real estate agents or even their employers. Others are concerned with the potential loss of protection of their personal information. The majority of credit users, who are responsible in managing their personal affairs, view the proposal as illogical in that it requires them to release more private information to compensate for the malpractice of a minority of irresponsible credit users.

The industry's proposal, if implemented, amounts to a relaxation of the provisions of the current Code of Practice on Consumer Credit Data to allow for a greater sharing of positive credit data via the credit reference agency. If there were to be any relaxation of the provisions of the current Code then any changes could only be made under the protection of safeguards which place explicit constraints on the collection, use and security of positive credit data by credit providers and the credit reference agency. In this respect, the PCPD has decided and is in the course of developing a consultation document on the privacy issues related to the proposal.