Former Hong Kong privacy commissioner argues lack of regulation makes it ‘impractical’ for officials to provide information to journalists

Former privacy commissioner insists media’s lack of ‘self-disciplinary’ system puts onus on outlets to convince government to cooperate with their requests

The remarks landed in the midst of a wider conversation about press freedom following the conviction of an RTHK contributor and recent moves to restrict access to government databases

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Former privacy commissioner Allan Chiang has said it is difficult for the government to honour media outlets’ requests for information. Photo: May Tse

Published: 4:35pm, 1 May 2021Updated: 10:58pm, 1 May 2021

Wading into an ongoing debate about the freedom of the press, a former Hong Kong privacy commissioner has argued that the lack of a system for verifying journalists’ qualifications makes it difficult for the government to release sensitive information to the media.

Even though the city’s privacy law provided an exemption for the press, former commissioner Allan Chiang Yam-wang insisted on Saturday that it would be “impractical” for government departments to entertain each and every journalist’s request for information on the assumption it would be used for news purposes.

“Even though the importance of journalism is unquestionable, the industry has always lacked registration, qualification and self-disciplinary systems,” the current adjunct law professor at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) said in a pre-recorded message broadcast by RTHK, adding that past efforts advocating for such mechanisms had not succeeded.

As such, he argued, it was up to each media organisation to convince government departments to cooperate with their requests.

RTHK contributor Bao Choy (centre) is surrounded by members of the press after being convicted of making a false statement last week. Photo: AFP

Chiang appeared to be throwing his support behind recent moves by authorities to limit access to previously public records, though he did say the government should adopt a lower threshold for releasing such information when a press outlet could demonstrate it had sufficiently rigorous practices in place.