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Following is a question by the Hon Fred Li Wah-ming and a written reply by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, in the Legislative Council today (June 15):
Question:
The 1823 Call Centre operated by the Efficiency Unit of the Government has recently launched the mobile application "Tell me@1823" to enable members of the public to reach the 1823 Call Centre via Wi-Fi or mobile phone network to make enquiries about and complaints against government departments. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the total number of downloads of the aforesaid application since its inception;
(b) of the total number of the aforesaid enquiry and complaint cases received by the 1823 Call Centre via this channel so far, and the percentages of such figures in the respective total numbers of the cases concerned; and
(c) as the whereabouts of members of the public may be disclosed when they use the aforesaid mobile application to make enquiries or complaints, whether the authorities have guidelines on handling such personal data; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) Between its launch on April 11 and June 6 this year, the mobile application "Tell me@1823" recorded 18 783 downloads.
(b) From April 11 to June 6 this year, the 1823 Call Centre received 528 enquiry and 1 859 complaint cases through the mobile application. This accounted for 0.2% of all enquiries and 4% of all complaints received over this period.
(c) "Tell me@1823" only records the location of reported cases with the citizens' consent at the time the report is made. It does not track the whereabouts of individuals. One of the functions of the mobile device is to make it easy for citizens to show the location of cases they report more accurately through the global positioning system (GPS). This in turn can make it easier and quicker for Government departments to follow up on the report. Citizens can choose to switch off the GPS and input the location of their cases manually if they wish. The 1823 Call Centre strictly enforces personal data protection measures including system security. The business rules and staff code of conduct require that any personal data collected is only used for following up the cases. Staff training emphasises the importance of this and management gives constant attention to maintaining the integrity with which the service operates.
Ends/Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Issued at HKT 11:45
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