Essentially, data is facts or statistics collected together for reference and analysis. It can be in the form of numbers or text. It is normally gathered to enable analysis or decision-making of some sort, such as recording product sales by region or profit margins for particular services. It can also be as complex as listing factors that relate to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of an individual (e.g. a person’s name, identification number, home address or online identifier).
Hong Kong is a leading global hub for the international trade of data. It enjoys many advantages such as its proximity to the Mainland, a stable government, a robust legal system, free flow of information, sound power supply and reliable telecommunications infrastructure. This makes Hong Kong a perfect place for data centres.
The Hong Kong government promotes the development of the data centre industry, with the aim of enhancing its competitiveness in the global economy and contributing to the development of the information technology sector. It has introduced a range of initiatives, including tax concessions and exemptions for data centres. The government has also set up a dedicated unit to facilitate the development of the industry.
It is mooted that Hong Kong could move towards a definition of personal data more closely aligned with that of the GDPR. This would enhance protection for individuals and increase the compliance measures for businesses who use personal data. This is particularly the case for businesses that use data-related technologies that learn about an individual’s behaviour or process information that will have a direct impact on them.
An example of this is the use of facial recognition to monitor public space activity. While there is no guarantee that the technology will be accurate, it can have significant implications for privacy. It is therefore important that companies that use such systems take steps to ensure that they are compliant with the PDPO.
Another example is the collection of personal data on a person’s staff card, which typically exhibits their name, company name, photograph and employee number. While this is not personal data in the sense of PDPO, it would still constitute personal information and it is therefore crucial that this information is protected at all times.
To deliver greater value from datasets, they can be enriched with other information such as official sources (such as government demographic or economic data), weather or other organizations’ datasets. This can improve data quality and provide context for analysis.