Privacy watchdog may become Commission for Privacy and Data Protection

Vasco Fong speaks

A proposal to restructure the Office for Personal Data Protection (GPDP) and turn it into a Commission for Privacy and Data Protection is currently being drafted and should be completed by June, GPDP coordinator Vasco Fong revealed yesterday. He acknowledged that the department has been facing challenges to be recognized as an independent entity by similar overseas institutions.
“Many entities do not recognize the GPDP as an entity entitled to handle certain [data protection-
related] cases. That’s why Macau only holds an observer status within some [data protection] organizations,” he told a press conference yesterday.
Looking to overcome those challenges and make the GPDP a recognizable independent entity outside Macau, Mr Fong added that they’re working on a piece of legislation that should be completed by June this year, before it is handed to the Executive Council and the Legislative Assembly.
Mr Fong stressed that his department has stepped up its coordinating efforts to complete the draft as soon as possible. He explained that their proposal not only entails reshuffling measures, but also the restructuring of the department.
Yesterday’s press conference also served to present the findings of a study commissioned from the Educational Research Center of UM’s Faculty of Education. The study looked at how secondary school and higher education studies see and handle their personal data.
Surveyed students revealed that ID theft (64.7 pct), CCTV systems (64.5 pct), internet services and social media (58.8 percent), and information leakage (56.6 percent) represent a great privacy risk.
Students chose not to hand personal data to enterprises or associations when they were asked about information concerning their families (64.5 pct), financial situation (56.7 pct), address (53 pct) and DNA (52.8 pct).
A total of 51.8 pct of the students expressed concerns regarding the transferring of personal data beyond Macau’s borders. With regards to data protection, 17.2 pct of the students said they refused to provide their personal information to public services or departments; 52.4 percent of the students refused to share their personal data with private entities.
Furthermore, 76.7 pct of the students acknowledged that mobile apps do collect personal data from their users; 47.4 pct of those surveyed said they regretted sharing data within social media networks.
Finally, 67 pct of the students acknowledged they do not read websites’ privacy policies.
Most teachers surveyed stated that issues surrounding data protection should be detailed in the civic education subject, as it would be “too difficult” to create a specific subject addressing only data protection. They also highlighted that there’s a lack of textbooks on data protection.
Teachers acknowledged that they have little knowledge of data protection rights. Only 28.6 pct of the surveyed teachers said they have undergone training on data protection matters.
The research center handled 3,271 questionnaires in total, after they were handed to students across 12 secondary schools and five higher education institutions. In addition, 15 professors participated in in-depth interviews, addressing data protection matters.
Mr Fong revealed that an initial project to launch textbooks on data protection has already been developed. “We’re hoping to complete this project by  year-end,” he said.

GPDP provides guidance on CCTV system operation

GPDP is providing advice on the way CCTV cameras are installed, said the office coordinator, Vasco Fong. Asked whether a plan to install 1,620 CCTV cameras around town might represent a violation of residents’ privacy, Mr Fong argued that these concerns are not an issue. “GPDP has to provide suggestions on how the camera should be positioned, so that it is not installed pointing directly in a specific direction, such as a window,” he stated. Mr Fong added that, at times, authorities are requested to change the surveillance cameras’ positions so that they  don’t violate people’s privacy.