Hong Kong government has long supported data use for policy formulation, needs assessment and monitoring public services. They have developed various databases such as HealthyHK which is maintained by the Public Health Information System of the Department of Health – this collection collates various health-related databases providing one-stop online services supporting policy development, planning and delivery in public health services in the city.
Hong Kong government has created another database called Open Data as a portal where users can access data from a range of sources including government agencies and businesses. Open Data contains both primary and secondary data such as statistics, forecasts and reports that can be used for research. Users can download this data in different forms like graphs and maps while there is also an API that allows users to generate visualisations using raw data.
Some data available through open source platforms is free to access while other require payment in order to gain entry. Many sites provide data on a range of subjects while some specialize in certain ones such as education or crime. Some even provide analysis and interpretation of trends from this data.
Cloud services providers must disclose customer personal data to law enforcement bodies in Hong Kong or any relevant jurisdiction where their data resides unless there are lawful grounds to withhold disclosure. Furthermore, they must comply with requests made by Hong Kong Monetary Authority or Securities and Futures Commission as per Hong Kong laws for disclosure purposes and allow their customers to opt out from receiving unsolicited telephone calls by registering their phone numbers on a Do Not Call register.
Hong Kong government officials have suggested amending the definition of personal data, which could increase compliance measures for companies using data. At present, “personal data” refers to any information pertaining to identifiable individuals such as names or HKID numbers – however this definition would expand to encompass anything which identifies or can be linked with individuals such as email addresses or location data.