Statements of Privacy Policy and Practices

Hong Kong Observatory

Statements of Privacy Policy and Practices

The Assistant Director (Development, Research and Administration) is responsible for overseeing, monitoring and supervising compliance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, Cap. 486 (“the PD(P)O”) within the Department.

The Departmental Secretary is designated as the Personal Data (Privacy) Officer and is responsible for handling requests made under the PD(P)O for access to or correction of personal data.


Privacy Policy

The protection of privacy in relation to personal data is the concern of every member of staff in the Department. We respect personal data and are committed to fully implementing and complying with the data protection principles and all relevant provisions of the PD(P)O.

In accordance with the PD(P)O, the Department undertakes to –

(a) not collect personal data unless such collection is necessary for or directly related to a lawful purpose directly related to a function or activity of this Department;
(b) collect personal data by means which are lawful and fair in the circumstances of the case;
(c) take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that the personal data collected or retained are accurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are to be used;
(d) erase personal data which are no longer necessary for the purposes for which they are to be used; (f) take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that personal data are protected against unauthorized or accidental access, processing, erasure or other use;
(g) take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that a person can be informed of the kinds of personal data that the Department holds and the purposes for which the data are to be used; and
(h) permit persons to access and correct personal data of which they are the data subject and process any such access/correction requests in a manner permitted or required by law.


Types and Purposes of Personal Data Held

The types of personal data held by the Department, and the main purposes for which the personal data are used, are set out at Annex I. Other information is collected when visitors visit our websites or make use of our mobile app MyObservatory. Please refer to Annex II for details about information which would be collected automatically.


Practices

The following are maintained to ensure compliance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance:-

(a) A Central Register of requests made under the Ordinance;
(b) A Data Protection Log Book, as provided for in Section 27 of the Ordinance; and
(c) Access request forms for access to/correction of personal data held by Department.

Data access or correction requests may be made on a request form. The request forms are obtainable from the General Registry, Hong Kong Observatory Headquarters, 134A, Nathan Road, Kowloon. The forms may also be downloaded from our web page. Requests should be addressed to Hong Kong Observatory, 134A, Nathan Road, Kowloon.

A charge will be made to cover the cost of photocopying personal data at the rate of $1.50 per photocopy or as otherwise provided for or approved by the Secretary for the Treasury.

The Department’s website uses SSL protocol to encrypt data during network transmission to protect personal data. The personal data provided to the Government via the Department’s website is secured and is accessible only by authorised personnel.

Unless permitted or required by law, the Government will not disclose personal data to any third parties without the relevant data subject’s prior consent.

The Department maintains and executes retention policies of records containing personal data to ensure personal data is not kept longer than is necessary for the fulfilment of the purpose for which the data is or is to be used. Different retention periods apply to the various kinds of personal data collected and held by the Department.


Enquiries

Enquiries regarding personal data privacy policy may be addressed to the Personal Data (Privacy) Officer:

Telephone: (852) 2926 8200 (office hour)
Email: mailbox@hko.gov.hk
Address: Hong Kong Observatory, 134A Nathan Road, Kowloon.


Note

To enable better user experience, the Department’s websites make use of the YouTube Application Programming Interface (API) to provide direct links to the latest video clips on various playlists of the Observatory's YouTube channel. Users should take note of the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy & Terms before viewing video clips on YouTube through the Department’s websites. The Department’s websites also make use of Facebook API to allow quick access to the posts on the Department’s Facebook Page. Users should take note of the Data Policy of Facebook before viewing the posts through the Department’s websites.

The Department’s websites support sharing of information via third party service providers. Before using any sharing function, users should refer to the privacy policy of corresponding service providers.

The Department subscribes to the services of SurveyMonkey to assist in collecting and processing reports of felt earth tremors by members of the public via the webpage. Provision of contact email address in the webpage is optional. Users should take note of the SurveyMonkey Terms of Use and Privacy Notice before submitting a report via the webpage.

Some webpages on the Department’s website were developed for provision of location-based weather service to meet individual user’s needs. The webpages were designed by putting top priority in respecting user’s privacy, while attempting to provide best possible functions and features to users. If the user grants permission for the webpage to use the user’s location data, the webpage will provide weather information closest to the user’s location. User’s location will not be transmitted out from user’s device.

This Privacy Policy Statement has been translated into Chinese. If there is any inconsistency or ambiguity between the English version and the Chinese version, the English version shall prevail.