As a data protection expert, I’m often asked by business owners what they need to do in order to comply with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO). Currently, the law sets out specific obligations for data users and safeguards individuals’ personal data through six data protection principles.

Among the proposed amendments to PDPO, one that is attracting attention is the requirement for businesses / data users to formulate a clear retention policy specifying how long personal data will be kept. This is because a lack of this obligation arguably places too little emphasis on protecting individuals’ personal data, and can result in personal information being retained longer than it should be.

However, it is important to bear in mind that a legal obligation to have a clearly stated retention policy does not necessarily mean that data users will follow through with this. In any event, it is not practical to develop a mandatory uniform period for retention because the data users’ needs and business nature are very different.

In addition, it is also not easy for the government to impose such a rule because of the varying needs and legal requirements of various businesses and activities. This is perhaps why the Hong Kong Government has been considering imposing a new requirement for data users to formulate their own retention policies.

It is also worth mentioning that the data protection regime does not only apply to personal information processed within Hong Kong, but it also applies to any processing of such information by a data user in Hong Kong that occurs outside the territory, even if the data subject has not consented to it. This is because the PDPO contains express provisions conferring extra-territorial application.

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