The Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance provides for the appointment of a Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data to monitor, supervise and promote compliance with the ordinance. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCO) began full operation in December 1996.

In 2005, the PCO handled 13 915 enquiries and 1 140 complaints, and conducted 139 compliance checks in relation to the ordinance. The office issued 10 enforcement notices and referred four cases to the police for prosecution.

According to the Code of Practice on Human Resource Management, an employer who directly, or through its agent, advertises a vacancy that solicits the submission of personal data by job applicants should provide a means for the applicant to identify either the employer or its agent. To ensure compliance by the relevant parties, the PCO checked 19 712 recruitment advertisements and found that about 16 per cent were blind advertisements which provided no means of identifying either the employer or the recruitment agency acting on behalf of the employer. The parties in breach of the code were served with warnings, which resulted in improved compliance with the code.

During the year, the PCO organised a wide range of activities to promote the awareness of individual rights in respect of personal data privacy in the community. These included a photo competition, a poster design competition, a series of seminars and workshops and a new online feature to educate the public on the key provisions of the ordinance.