Hong Kong and mainland China sign Greater Bay Area data flow agreement
25 Jul 2023, 2:53 am
Regulators in mainland of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) have signed an agreement on cross-border data flow in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
The agreement establishes security rules for the cross-border flow of data in the GBA within the framework of the national data cross-border security management system. The regulators aim to encourage the secure flow of data in the GBA, according to a statement by China’s state council.
Jennifer Wu of Pinsent Masons said: “The agreement is certainly exciting although the exact contents are not revealed. The five-year plan will help to shape Hong Kong SAR’s position as the international city and help it become a global data hub. This is a positive step and shows a concrete plan to foster cross border data flow between Hong Kong SAR and the GBA.”
The Cyberspace Administration of China and the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau of the government of the Hong Kong SAR signed the agreement. The two regulators committed to explore effective management measures to help with the cross-border data flow within the GBA.
The Office of Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data visited the Shenzhen Data Exchange to discuss future collaboration.
Wu said these discussions “will help to shape and reform cross border transfer of data between Hong Kong SAR, mainland of China and within the GBA and ensure appropriate safeguards for the security of data”.
The Shenzhen Data Exchange, which was established in November 2022, provides a national trading platform for cross-border and trans-boundary data flows.
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