In an op-ed for the Hong Kong Free Press, Benjamin Zhou, researcher at the Hong Kong Transparency Report, writes that it is time for Hong Kong to update its Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance, which was enacted in 2006. Now lagging regional jurisdictions, the legislation has failed to keep up with the pace of development. While the Commissioner on Interception of Communication and Surveillance’s 2016 report shows a reduction in reported police surveillance, Zhou suggests this dip may represent a change in tactics rather than less surveillance. Zhou suggests law enforcement may opt for less regulated data that falls outside the surveillance ordinance, “Nowadays, the authorities may be turning away from traditional interceptions, looking instead towards communications and personal data stored in the cloud — access to which has not yet been regulated as thoroughly by law as tapping telephones.”
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