MTEL data centers in Zhuhai may clash with Personal Data Protection Act

The setting up of data centers by MTEL Telecommunication Company Ltd. in Zhuhai may conflict with MSAR’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), since the transfer of data abroad is subject to the authorization of the Office for Personal Data Protection and might even require consent from clients.
The Office for Personal Data Protection (GPDP) admitted to the Times that MTEL’s plans for establishing new data centers outside of the Macau Special Administrative Region, as reported by Business Daily early this month, require prior approval: “Pursuant to the provisions of the PDPA, such data is lawfully collected and processed in the territory of the Macau SAR, the transfer of the personal data to centers located outside Macau falls under the provisions of Articles 19 and 20 of the PDPA,” the office revealed.
Article 19 states that “the data controller should apply to the GPDP regarding the personal data transfer outside the MSAR, in order to assess whether the legal system of the intended destination for the data ensures an adequate level of personal data protection.”
Moreover, article 20 states that “in the case of an inadequate level of protection by that legal system, explicit and unambiguous consent of the data subjects may be enough for compliance with the law.”
In case there is no consent, the act also provides for “a set of conditions that, if met, may enable the GDPD to authorize the personal data transfer.”
The GDPD also informed the Times that the situation described is hypothetical, since “no such case has yet been filed next to this Office.”
The office recalled that the Telecommunications Regulator (DSRT) is still assessing MTEL’s plans, which include letting in a new shareholder.
The DSRT told the Times, “According to the Fixed Public Telecommunications Network licensing, the transfer of share capital of 15 percent or above is subject to the government’s approval.”
The regulator specified that MTEL’s licensing includes the provision of “data center services.” The fixed network operator then still “has to comply with the existing legislation in Macau including law no. 8/2005” (Personal Data Protection Act).
Business Daily cited the chairman of Elegant Way International Holdings Ltd., Cao Xue Di, who said, “Our ownership in MTEL will be in the range of 20 to 30 per cent.” The newspaper reported on February 2 that Elegant Way, besides providing monetary support to MTEL, intends to be “a strategic partner in terms of technical support for MTEL’s initiative to develop the business segments of big data, cloud computing and even Internet in vehicles.”
The Chinese company also intends to support MTEL’s data centre business.
“We have two properties in Zhuhai: one in the west of Doumen district and another in Hengqin,” Cao Xue Di stated in the above-mentioned report. “The combined site area will be around 100,000 square meters. And if we use up the plot ratio, we will have an area of 200,000 square meters for building data centers.”
The DSRT did not confirm whether it was running any request from MTEL to let in a new shareholder, as per the referred conditions.
The Times also contacted MTEL for an explanation of the company strategy and status, but received no reply by press time.