Our earlier exclusive discovery, the Hong Kong Airport Authority launched the “face recognition” gate a day before the revision of the relevant privacy provisions, so that passenger data can be sent to a third party supplier, the Bureau refused to disclose the identity of the supplier at the Time. The reporter then asked three times, the bureau responded that the supplier is Japan Electric (NEC), and said that the government has not received a request to transfer personal data.
The Hong Kong Airport Authority added a new “face recognition” gate in January, but we found out exclusively last month that the Bureau amended the privacy clause a day before the new measure was introduced, so that information identifying passengers could be sent to a third-party vendor. At that time, our reporter asked the Bureau to inquire about the identity of the supplier, but the Bureau refused to disclose, and did not disclose whether the information was shared with the Hong Kong government.
The supplier was disclosed as “Japan Electric” only after the publication of the report
After the publication of the report, the AA finally disclosed that the airport’s “self-check-in gates” were handled by a third-party service provider, “NEC Hong Kong Limited”. However, it has not disclosed whether the information has been disclosed to the Hong Kong government and law enforcement agencies, as well as the amount of expenditure involved. The Bureau said that personal information is stored on a designated server at the Hong Kong International Airport, and the third-party service provider has to go through established procedures to gain access, and the process will be recorded.
NEC Hong Kong Limited was established in 1984 and its parent company is NEC Corporation (NEC). According to the report, “NEC” is currently the world’s leading face recognition technology, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Japan is scheduled to use “NEC” technology, its face recognition technology in the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the 2018 Its face recognition technology achieved the highest matching accuracy in the 2018 face recognition benchmark test conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
The station quoted the “Code on Access to Information” to reveal that it did not share the information with the Hong Kong government.
The reporter then asked whether NEC Hong Kong had ever received passenger information through established procedures, whether it was the only third-party provider with access to passenger information, and whether it had shared the information with the Hong Kong government so far. The AA replied to our station, “Our earlier reply has responded to the questions you have raised.” The Bureau still avoided the question.
Eventually this station cited the Code on Access to Information, the Bureau replied that the two gates have not received any request from the government or law enforcement agencies to transfer any relevant personal data since their operation. In addition, NEC Hong Kong Limited is the only “third-party service provider”, except for the necessary maintenance work of the gate system, the company has no access to any relevant personal data.
However, the Bureau finally cited commercially sensitive information as the reason for not providing the cost of the gates, only stating that the relevant costs are paid by the AA’s internal funds.
The Bureau finally did not provide the costs related to the gate on the grounds of commercially sensitive information. (AA photo)
Yuen Hoi-man criticized the Bureau for not intending to build public confidence
The Democratic Party treasurer Yuen Hoi Man criticized the AA’s “toothpaste” response is not ideal when interviewed by the station.
I think transparency, openness and honesty are very important, especially when it comes to the possibility of public money and public interest, that processing absolutely needs to be open. Frankly speaking, if there is no compulsion of things, problems, afraid of what open and let the public know how that processing is.
On the AA to commercially sensitive information as the reason for not wanting to provide the gate related funds, Yuan Haiwen difficult to understand how sensitive, and that the Bureau should further explain, so that the public know is the best.
AA “dose toothpaste” type response to reporters’ questions not submitted information to the police
In addition, the government earlier submitted to the Legislative Council “2020 Immigration (Amendment) Bill”, which will empower the government to prohibit a person from leaving Hong Kong, when the community has aroused concern about the freedom of exit.
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