Colliers Valuation & Advisory Services projects that the Greater Bay Area’s integration into China, combined with its global data bridge function, will dramatically increase demand for local data centres. New supply is anticipated to reach 6 million sq ft by 2028 – though much of this space may already be committed by owners or tenants.
Data has become a cornerstone of growth across the Greater Bay Area (GBA), and will only continue to do so into the foreseeable future. To capitalise on this growing opportunity, GBA officials have launched numerous cross-border initiatives designed to eliminate barriers and ensure smooth information flows.
A recent pilot scheme will enable universities and research institutes in Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangzhou to exchange limited cross-border data for scientific purposes. The initiative enables academic personnel to bypass the Great Firewall to access images, audio and video data pertaining to science. Though an excellent start, further steps must be taken for full integration in Greater Bay Area.
One of the key proposals is creating a standard contract that will guarantee safe and orderly flow of personal information across Greater Bay Area. This would benefit both companies and individuals whose data is being transmitted, while speeding up development of digital economies in GBA.
An equally significant proposal would be amending the Personal Data Protection Ordinance (PDPO) by broadening its definition of personal data to encompass information that can be used to identify an individual. Such changes would broaden its reach and heighten compliance requirements for data users – especially businesses using data-related technologies to gain insight into peoples’ behaviour and have direct effects on them.
PDPO already provides some degree of protection to individuals by outlining their rights and specific obligations under six data protection principles. Furthermore, the law allows for investigation and prosecution of crimes such as doxxing (disclosing personal data without consent). Unfortunately, doxxing remains an all too frequent problem among data subjects despite these provisions; whether proposed changes to PDPO will help alleviate this problem remains to be seen.