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Market analyst clash with Hong Kong privacy watchdog over names made public on website

Order to remove names already made public from website sparks legal battle

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James To Kun-sun said the case may reflect a problem with laws.

A share market analyst is going into battle against the privacy watchdog in a dispute sparked by an order for him to remove information from his website.

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In August last year, the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data ordered David Webb, who runs Webb-site.com to redact the names of people who appeared in reports on three court judgments handed down years ago.

The names were included in files on a matrimonial case published on the judiciary's website in 2000, 2001 and 2002, following open court hearings.

Webb's website, which offers information on Hong Kong affairs for investors, then published three reports on the case with hyperlinks to the judgments.

Years later the judiciary redacted the names on its website, and subsequently, the privacy commissioner ordered Webb to remove the names from his website following a complaint from Luciana Wong Wai-lan. But Wong withdrew the complaint on January 8.

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Wong sits on the boards of four public bodies including the appeals board on town planning and environmental impact assessments.

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