In the twelve months since the Umbrella Movement’s street protests, one of the many topics now openly discussed locally is privacy, the right to privacy and personal data protection. Stories abound in the media, both locally and internationally, of people’s phone, text and email conversations being read, stolen, sold, published mis-used without their consent.
Among this increased awareness of privacy, locally Hongkongers are (too) slowly becoming aware of a need to protect their personal data. In the past everything about you from medical history, job resume, where you live, id card/passport numbers, bank details etc was stored on paper or digital files in separate boxes and computer systems in different buildings spread across the SAR. The emergence of the ‘cloud’ and the lax data security that many government departments and companies have in place mean that all this data is easily accessed by those who don’t have your best interests at heart.
As part of The Law Society of Hong Kong annual ‘Law Week’ privacy and decoding the importance of it figure prominently. While the discussions in “Teen Talk” section may be targeted to teenagers the information is pertinent to all – and it’s to be hoped that the Law Society will post the information and discussions online for all to peruse – especially with the spate of police prosecutions thrown out for fabricated evidence and personal data hijackings.
Aimed at enriching the legal knowledge of young people through discussions and sharing, while encouraging them to analyze law-related social issues from different perspectives. As the program, under the theme of “Decoding Privacy”, kicked off in over schools across Hong Kong Mr. Nick Chan, Council Member of The Law Society of Hong Kong said, “Teen Talk has been well received by teachers and students, and we are pleased to see that the number of participating schools hits a new high this year with 125 schools from 18 districts. Evolving from the previous all-day forum to a combined format with both physical and sedentary elements for this year’s programme, we hope the participants will enjoy the “Legal Scenario Play Competition” and the “Teen Talk Legal Knowledge Orienteering Race”. The former requires students to reflect on various real-life scenarios designed by the Law Society, including internet security, cyber-bullying, privacy issues, civil and criminal cases.”
He added, “The popularity of social media and smartphone applications may compromise the security of personal data, which young people (and many others) are seldom aware of and thus do not know how to protect their privacy. In the view of this, “Teen Talk 2015” adopted the theme of ‘Decoding Privacy’ to address the misunderstandings of young people on privacy and legal issues through discussions, and to remind them of the vulnerability of cyber space. We also want to enhance their awareness of public affairs and legal issues, and encourage them to apply what they have learnt to protect themselves and the others.”
As students of all ages have demonstrated over the last couple of years, they are the people most concerned about Hong Kong and its future. The legal system and specifically it’s impartiality is a cornerstone of that future. But so is understanding your legal rights, protecting your privacy and sadly video recording all interactions with the police. It’s to be hoped that “decoding privacy” will help people understand the value of their personal information and the need to protect their digital privacy just as much as they do their physical privacy.
