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Privacy

Privacy

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Privacy. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

last updated:

9 September, 2024

Twitter whistle-blower talks about concerns foreign governments spied on users

14 Sep 2022 - 2:03PM

Hong Kong’s tech figures call for Telegram to discuss doxxing law compliance

20 May 2022 - 1:07PM

Chinese work culture

Privacy debate after Chinese company demands to check employee phone battery status

21 Apr 2022 - 1:10PM

Millionaires and billionaires

Meet Pavel Durov, the handsome tech billionaire who founded Telegram

Often described as the ‘Russian Mark Zuckerberg’, Durov is the mind behind Telegram, the encrypted messaging app that was recognised as the fastest growing app of 2021

30 Mar 2022 - 2:12PM

Pavel Durov is a billionaire and the founder of Telegram. Photo: @durov/Instagram

Hong Kong electoral changes

Hong Kong electoral office apologises after employee leaks 15,000 voters’ info

Registration and Electoral Office says staff member sent files to unknown recipient after incorrectly typing personal email.

26 Mar 2022 - 12:09AM

Coronavirus Hong Kong

Opinion | How Hong Kong can improve contact tracing to achieve ‘zero Covid’

Mainland China’s approach rests on population-wide testing and a powerful big data tracing platform. Hong Kong is not measuring up. A system that uploads visitor footprints to government servers, sensors to automatically record entries and exits, and a phased approach to implementation could all help.

13 Mar 2022 - 6:45AMvideocam

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‘Slim, healthy skin’: ‘creepy’ hotpot chain has files on customer’s appearance

‘Creepy’: hotpot chain caught recording customer eating preferences and detailed descriptions of weight and appearance is not breaking the law, says legal expert.

25 Feb 2022 - 9:00AMvideocam

Hotpot chain caught keeping secret files on customers. Photo: SCMP

Beijing calls out 107 apps for data violations, one from Xiaomi

The list, which has become a regular occurrence since 2019, forms part of Beijing’s effort to rein in data collection and usage practices online.

21 Feb 2022 - 4:35PMvideocam

Meta, Google, other US tech giants face data doomsday as key EU decision looms

One of the EU’s top privacy watchdogs is preparing a decision that could paralyse transatlantic data flows and risk billions in revenue for US technology giants.

18 Feb 2022 - 5:24PM

Medical device firm set to break 7-month Chinese IPO drought in New York

Chinese companies outside the internet sector are testing investors’ demand for smaller IPOs after a regulatory clampdown by Beijing.

15 Feb 2022 - 12:10AMvideocam

Meihua International, a Chinese medical device maker, is poised to launch its IPO this week on Nasdaq. Photo: Bloomberg

Coronavirus Hong Kong

Tracking function for ‘Leave Home Safe’ app not illegal: Hong Kong privacy chief

Privacy commissioner Ada Chung offers the assessment under questioning from lawmakers pressing for the inclusion of such a feature amid a surge in coronavirus cases.

10 Feb 2022 - 8:19PMvideocam

People scan the government’s “Leave Home Safe” mobile app to enter a restaurant in Tsing Yi on Thursday. Photo: Sam Tsang

Meta cracks down on firms that spied on users in 100 countries

Meta identified 6 companies from Israel, India, and North Macedonia, in addition to an unknown entity in China, which it said carried out ‘indiscriminate’ surveillance.

17 Dec 2021 - 12:18PM

Chinese EV maker fined US$15,710 for flouting data privacy rules

Regulators fine Xpeng Motors 100,000 yuan (US$15,710) for collecting consumer data without their consent at seven showrooms in Shanghai.

16 Dec 2021 - 8:00PMvideocam

How to look out for spy cameras in China

14 Dec 2021 - 2:00PM

Doxxing and cyberbullying

Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog makes first arrest under new anti-doxxing law

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data says the doxxing was related to a monetary dispute between the suspect and the alleged victim.

13 Dec 2021 - 8:59PMvideocam

Hong Kong authorities have made their first arrest under a new law criminalising doxxing. Photo: Shutterstock

Inside Out & Outside In

Outside In | Lessons from the pandemic are clear – but are we ready to apply them?

We know which countries to learn from and what practices to adopt but political tensions cause leaders to hesitate. Perhaps more power and funding ought to be ceded to multilateral organisations – but how many political leaders would do that?

27 Nov 2021 - 4:26AMvideocam

Ant seeks nod for credit-scoring joint venture with state-backed partners

China’s central bank says it has received an application for a personal-credit scoring joint venture between Ant Group and state-backed partners.

29 Nov 2021 - 1:14PMvideocam

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Artificial intelligence

Unesco unveils global guidelines for ethical use of AI

The UN agency’s recommendations come more than a month after China introduced its own set of ethical guidelines governing artificial intelligence.

30 Nov 2021 - 12:11PM

While artificial intelligence is being used to help transform a broad swathe of industries, its application in social scoring platforms and surveillance systems have raised ethical concerns. Illustration: Shutterstock

Artificial intelligence

AI applications continue to face challenges in transparency, bias

Big Tech companies are expected to perform a delicate balancing act in advancing AI development, while ensuring the technology’s ethical application.

17 Jun 2021 - 11:00PMvideocam

Health apps collecting sensitive user data pose privacy risk, says study

An analysis of more than 20,000 apps found many were not adequately informing users of data policies, with nearly 30 per cent not including any privacy policy text at all.

17 Jun 2021 - 10:47AM

Bitcoin privacy update will make it harder to trace payments

The bitcoin network has approved a new update called Taproot to enhance privacy for users, which some say could change the way payments are made and make it more attractive to developers.

16 Jun 2021 - 9:58AMvideocam

Representation of virtual currency Bitcoin and a padlock are placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration picture taken on May 4. Photo: Reuters

Financial regulation

Hong Kong to widen access to executives’ data to deter crime

The inclusion of “these organisations to the list of ‘specified persons’ would help ensure the robustness of governance of Hong Kong’s financial and commercial sectors,” the FSTB Secretary Christopher Hui Ching-yu said.

12 Jun 2021 - 7:54PM

A computer user is silhouetted with a row of computer monitors at an Internet cafe in Shenyang, in northern China’s Liaoning province on January 28, 2008. Photo: AP

Coronavirus vaccine

Letters | Data privacy a concern as Hong Kong opens up vaccine centre jobs

Temporary workers may be able to access the sensitive personal information of citizens. Hopefully, this will not set a precedent, such as for Legco elections.

28 Apr 2021 - 6:55AMvideocam

China’s Big Tech firms to create data privacy oversight bodies

The latest draft of China’s Personal Information Protection Law directs Big Tech firms to each establish an independent body that will oversee data privacy compliance.

26 Apr 2021 - 8:56PM

Opinion | Personal data: there’s always a price to pay for ‘free’ social media apps

While most social media platforms are free, users must recognise they are almost always giving up their personal data to use the service. In comparison, the government’s ‘Leave Home Safe’ app has fewer requirements and is safer for users’ data.

20 Apr 2021 - 9:15AMvideocam

A man and woman use their laptops and a mobile phone as they sit in a park next to Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong in October 2017. Photo: AFP

China Briefing | China’s privacy problem won’t be solved by data protection laws alone

The draft Personal Information Protection Law will be a welcome tool in the fight against China’s rampant privacy breaches, but a cavalier attitude towards data protection persists among companies and officials, writes Wang Xiangwei.

10 Apr 2021 - 10:16AMvideocam

Chinese authorities have launched periodic crackdowns in the past, but an illicit marketplace for personal information has continued to proliferate. Photo: Shutterstock

US-China tech war

How China’s regime fuels mistrust of its tech giants

Foreign suspicions over Beijing’s relations with Chinese tech firms are fuelling mistrust that analysts say is unlikely to go away any time soon.

12 Apr 2021 - 11:38AMvideocam

Privacy watchdog demands Facebook tell Hong Kong users personal data was leaked

While the hack occurred in 2019, Ada Chung, privacy commissioner for personal data, notes information involving 3 million city residents can ‘still be used’ by criminals.

6 Apr 2021 - 8:52PM

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