Wednesday 20th February 2013
Dear Reader,
Thanks to over 900 people who have already participated in our opinion poll on HKIDs and Government. If you haven't yet voted, your e-mail and PIN are at the top of this newsletter. Meanwhile, for those interested in the difference between a long-stay hotel suite and an apartment, we'll be on RTHK3 Backchat tomorrow morning at 08:33.
NEW ARTICLE
Response to
HK's Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data
Last week's very public
intervention by the Government's Privacy Commissioner regarding the Webb-site
Who's Who database raises important implications for the freedom in Hong Kong to
compile, publish, and even access compilations of public domain data on
individuals. Having raised these issues, the PCPD must now clarify where we all
stand. (20-Feb-2013)
RECENTLY ON WEBB-SITE
HKID index suspended: A special message from our Founder
(15-Feb-2013)
HKIDs
and Government secrecy
Webb-site calls on Government to
abandon plans to restrict access to HKIDs, and instead to promote their use as
unique identifiers of individuals and eliminate their misuse as authenticators.
A media exemption would imply media controls. We launch an index of HKIDs which
are already on the web. The Companies Registry and Land Registry should tear
down the pay-wall and provide open online access to all documents. (12-Feb-2013)
Submission to HK
Ombudsman on access to information and records management
Webb-site calls for a Freedom of Information Ordinance, to include provisions on
government record-keeping. There should be an online freely accessible archive
of records, and pay-walls on registries should be demolished. Government claims
to copyright should also be scrapped - we have already paid for what they
produce, and it should not be commercial anyway. (12-Feb-2013)
BSD and
SSD 2.0 - submission to LegCo
We dissect the proposed
Buyer's Stamp Duty and increase and expansion of Special Stamp Duty on
residential properties in HK. Government replies to Webb-site reveal that they
don't actually have data to support the discrimination between Permanent
Residents and Non-PRs, even if the duty were constitutional, which it is
not. (5-Feb-2013)
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