DATA PROTECTION LEGISLATION

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Assoc. Prof. Chin Tet Yung asked the Minister for Trade and Industry whether his Ministry will consider introducing data protection legislation to ensure that personal data submitted electronically will not be sold or otherwise used for improper purposes, without the knowledge and permission of the data subjects.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Tang Guan Seng) (for the Minister for Trade and Industry): Mr Speaker Sir, although Singapore does not have a blanket law to cover protection of personal data, we do have laws that cover specific areas where abuse of personal data may occur. For example, communication and electronic data are protected under the various provisions of the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore Act and the Computer Misuse Act, while the Banking Act prevents disclosure of information on individual bank accounts.

Personal data obtained by the Government are protected through the Official Secrets Act, the Statutory Boards and Government Companies (Protection of Secrecy) Act, and the Statistics Act.

The National Computer Board, in conjunction with the relevant agencies, is reviewing the coverage of existing laws in the face of a changing global environment. One present area of focus is electronic commerce.

The multi-agency Electronic Commerce Policy Committee is reviewing existing laws to ensure that there is adequate protection for transacting parties in electronic commerce. The review is progressing hand in hand with development of technical solutions to provide protection for personal data. The combined use of digital certificates, digital signatures and encryption keys in Singapore's electronic commerce framework will enhance security by allowing transacting parties to be identified and verified, as well as allow information to be decrypted only by authorised parties. If necessary, we will not hesitate to amend existing laws or propose new ones, so as to support electronic commerce.