Privacy chief backs tighter land-search rules

Ada Chung, the privacy commissioner, endorsed government efforts to tighten land record search rules on Friday, expressing worry about potential misuse of land registry data. Her remarks came as the government submitted eight sets of subsidiary legislation to the Legislative Council for the proposed changes. Under the revised system, land searches must align with one of nine defined purposes, such as property transactions and valuations.

Chung emphasized that these purposes must be specific and unambiguous to prevent searchers from straying into illicit uses of the data. In the past five years, her office received 20 complaints regarding alleged misuse of land registry data, with six of those complaints occurring this year alone. These issues include instances where property owners were doxxed on social media and sent unsolicited promotional mail.

Chung stressed that the new regulations would clarify the system, better safeguard homeowner privacy, and deter unlawful conduct. She also pointed out that the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance's exception for journalistic purposes requires a public interest justification, paralleling the rationale behind the new land search guidelines.