Hong Kong is an advanced digital economy and personal data is seen as a valuable commodity. Recognizing this, the Hong Kong Government has implemented stringent data protection rules through the PDPO (Data Protection Ordinance). These provisions give data subject rights, establish specific obligations on controllers and regulate collection, processing, holding and use through six principles for data protection.
PDPO does not explicitly extend beyond national boundaries, however the laws of other jurisdictions may do so. When data is transferred or processed in other countries, local laws will likely apply; this should be kept in mind if using data from multiple sources.
SmarTone holds an MVNO license and provides 3G/4G service across its own network and Three HK and China Mobile HK networks. Their roaming SIM cards include one that costs HK$ 168 for three days with 8 GB in Hong Kong and mainland China; another costs HK$ 438 with 10GB per year for both networks; additional recharge options range from 50-300, plus there is an option that lets customers add on 4G coverage in US, Canada, Australia or New Zealand at 268 (fup to 15GB FUP with usage throttled down to 128kbps activation call *101*420#); Tethering is strictly forbidden.
Potential changes to the PDPO include expanding its definition of personal data to encompass various elements such as names, HKID numbers and photographs that appear on most business staff cards in Hong Kong – this would drastically enhance compliance measures among companies who collect or process such information.