[2008] 1 HKC
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Shi Tao v Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data
(Administrative Appeals Board)
303
Ordinance.7 That section empowers the Commissioner to refuse to carry
out or continue an investigation when the case has no connection with
Hong Kong. It does not provide the answer as to whether the Ordinance
may have extra- territorial application.
87. Mr Chang on behalf of the Commissioner argued that the
Ordinance had no extra-territorial application. He relied on the decision of
the Privy Council in Sirdar Gurdyal Singh v Rajah of Faridkote [1894] AC
670 to contend that in the absence of provisions in the Ordinance
governing extra-territorial application, the general principle of
territoriality applied. Accordingly, the Commissioner simply did not have
jurisdiction over the appellant’s complaint.
88. In support of his submission, Mr Chang highlighted the following
factual findings (amongst others) by the Commissioner:
(1) The Email Account was subscribed by a PRC user, not a Hong
Kong resident;
(2) The Disclosure Order was issued to the business address of Yahoo!
HK Holdings Ltd Beijing Representative Office in the PRC;
(3) The Email Account information was collected by the yahoo.com.cn
website in the PRC and disclosed to the SSB in the PRC, not in
Hong Kong; and
(4) The Yahoo! Hong Kong team has no access to the user database of
Yahoo! China.
89. We have earlier explained why we consider that YHHK did have
‘control’ over the relevant information at the material time, and why
YHHK was a ‘data user’ exercising control over the information ‘in or
from Hong Kong’. In view of our conclusions on those issues, the
Ordinance clearly applied to the instant case. It is therefore not necessary
to come to any views on this interesting, but academic (for the purpose of
this appeal) question.
G
I. GROUND FOUR: WHETHER DPP3 WAS CONTRAVENED
H
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90. DPP3 provides that unless with the ‘prescribed consent’ of the data
subject, personal data shall only be used for a purpose consistent with the
original purpose of collection.
91. In the Report, the Commissioner came to the view that no
prescribed consent had been obtained from the appellant prior to the
disclosure of the information to the SSB. YHHK and Yahoo! Inc, however,
contended that prescribed consent had been given by the appellant when
he subscribed to the yahoo.com.cn mail service, thereby accepting the
TOS and PPS in respect of that website.
7.
The relevant provision in the Ordinance dealing with extra-territoriality appears to be s 33,
which is not yet in operation.