The Hong Kong Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data has shown signs of revamping the data protection regime in the region that will bring the standard of personal data protection in Hong Kong closer to its international counterparts.

Early in January 2020, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, jointly with the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) proposed six amendments to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) in a Legislative Council discussion paper (2020 Discussion Paper) with a view to strengthen the protection for personal data in Hong Kong. For many years, the public has raised concerns over the inadequacy of the PDPO, particularly following the data breach incidents involving Cathay Pacific and ­TransUnion in 2018 (PL&B International Report December 2018, pp. 18-19).