Codes of Practice issued by Privacy Commissioner
According to section 12(1) of the Ordinance, The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (also known as "the Commissioner") can issue Codes of Practice "for the purpose of providing practical guidance” to assist data users’ compliance of the Ordinance. Codes of Practice currently cover the collection and use of:
· Data used by Human Resource Management
· Identity card numbers and personal identifiers
· Consumer credit data
There is also a draft Code of Practice that addresses the issues of monitoring and personal data privacy at work. Full text versions of these Codes can be downloaded from: www.pco.org.hk/english/publications/listofpub.html
What happens is a data user does not observe these Codes of Practice? The provisions of the Codes are not legally binding. However, failure to observe a Code of Practice by a data user will weigh unfavourably against the data user in any complaint case before the Commissioner.