The Privacy Commission has launched an investigation into whether information provided by Yahoo Hong Kong led to the imprisonment of mainland journalist Shi Tao .
Commissioner Roderick Woo Bun yesterday confirmed that the watchdog had decided to investigate an allegation by the International Chinese Pen Centre alleging Yahoo Holdings (Hong Kong) disclosed details of Shi's e-mails to mainland authorities.
Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders last week said another writer, Jiang Lijun , had also been jailed on the mainland for subversion after Yahoo helped Chinese police identify him.
Mr Woo said Shi's case posed a number of difficult questions, including jurisdictional issues and exemptions under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.
'The case involves a number of technical issues which are going to be quite challenging to define and solve,' he said. 'There are difficulties with the technical definition of the term 'personal data' and [issues] involving jurisdictional points ... and the crime element is one of the exemptions in the ordinance.'
Newly appointed Deputy Privacy Commissioner Bonnie Smith, formerly with the Hong Kong Police, said her first priority would be to deal with the case of leaked identities of complainants to the Independent Police Complaints Council.