In the June 2008 issue of Privacy Laws and Business, Doreen Weisenhaus writes about how the latest personal data breaches in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia are prompting calls for reform of existing laws.  The article (”Hong Kong DP reform calls; Data breaches and Internet sex scandals in Hong Kong and other Asian countries”) details some of the dozens of data leaks and losses to hit Hong Kong in recent months, including those of confidential government information, hospital and banking records and private photos of consensual sexual acts by adults.

Weisenhaus writes that “while incidents of data leaks and losses are not new in Hong Kong or worldwide, the frequency and extent of this latest wave…are threatening to become the biggest personal data crisis since the city’s personal data protection law became effective in 1996.”

She also cites similar controversies in South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Japan.