3 helpers sacked, issued warnings over use of employer data to secure loans

Three domestic helpers in Hong Kong have faced job termination and received warning letters following the unauthorized disclosure of their employers' personal data for loan applications. This action resulted in the employers being hounded by debt collectors. Ada Chung Lai-ling, the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, clarified that the helpers had initially obtained the employers' names, phone numbers, and addresses for work-related purposes.

However, they later supplied this information to financial institutions to apply for loans, which extended beyond the initial intent of data collection.

In one incident from 2025, a helper offered her employer's phone number and address to a moneylender in the Philippines as proof of employment. Due to the high interest rate, the helper later defaulted on the loan. The moneylender subsequently contacted the employer, demanding she make the payments and even threatened to send debt collectors if the debt was not repaid on time.

Two other instances occurred in January and May of the current year, where helpers disclosed their employers' personal data to multiple financial institutions without consent to secure loans, causing the employers to endure harassment.

All three helpers were dismissed and issued warning letters by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data. Under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, non-compliance with privacy regulations can lead to criminal penalties, including up to two years in jail and a fine of HK$100,000 (approximately US$12,800) for repeat offenses.

Chung reported that the privacy watchdog received 21 inquiries and complaints regarding the unauthorized use or disclosure of employers' personal data by domestic helpers to financial institutions during the first half of the year, surpassing the 18 complaints recorded throughout 2025. However, she expects the number of cases to stabilize in the second half of the year as the government intensifies regulatory measures against moneylenders.

In response to the issue, new regulations came into effect earlier this month, prohibiting financial institutions from requesting borrowers to provide loan referees. Additionally, monthly loan amounts are limited to 35% of the borrower's monthly income for those earning up to HK$6,000 and 40% for those earning between HK$6,001 and HK$12,000.

Chung advised domestic workers to obtain explicit consent from their employers before using their personal data and to refrain from disclosing information to financial institutions without permission. Employers were encouraged to remind helpers to avoid using private information for purposes not previously agreed upon and to handle documents with their signatures carefully.

The privacy watchdog also published guidelines for organizations on safeguarding personal data when employing artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Chung highlighted that AI tools pose a higher risk of data breaches as they may operate independently to perform tasks such as managing emails, making restaurant reservations, and settling payments.

The officer's nine recommendations included minimizing the excessive or arbitrary collection of personal data for AI tools, notifying users that the software is in use, ensuring the accuracy of private information with context-based fine-tuning and human review, regularly deleting irrelevant data, obtaining consent for all personal information usage, and verifying system codes to avoid malicious programs.

The final three recommendations emphasized choosing systems with robust privacy protection settings, conducting continuous risk assessments, and providing employee training. Fiona Lai Ho-yan, the assistant privacy commissioner for legal affairs, suggested a 'human-in-the-loop' approach for AI decision-making to retain final control and prevent errors and automation bias.