Hong Kong Ordinances

BROADCASTING ORDINANCE - SECT 27

Confidential matter to be safeguarded

(1) Subject to subsection (2)-

   (a)  any information which is furnished, and any data, book, document or
        record which is produced, by a person in confidence to the
        Broadcasting Authority or any person authorized by it or any committee
        appointed by it or by that committee, the Telecommunications Authority
        or any person authorized by him, shall be treated as confidential; and

   (b)  unless the person otherwise permits in writing and except in
        accordance with such permission, no such information, data, book,
        document or record or any copy thereof shall be divulged or shown to
        any person other than in confidence to members of the
        Broadcasting Authority or any committee appointed thereby, or to a
        public officer acting in the performance of his duties or for the
        purposes of this Ordinance or the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance (
        Cap 391).

(2) Subsection (1) shall not be construed as prohibiting the disclosure of
information-

   (a)  with a view to the institution of or otherwise for the purposes of any
        criminal proceedings or any investigation in connection therewith,
        whether under this Ordinance or otherwise, in Hong Kong;

   (b)  in connection with civil proceedings to which the Broadcasting 
        Authority is a party;

   (c)  which facilitates the Broadcasting Authority or the
        Telecommunications Authority investigating or determining a complaint
        that a licensee is engaging in conduct that contravenes a provision of
        a prescribed Ordinance; or

   (d)  subject to subsection (3), which the Broadcasting Authority considers
        it is in the public interest to disclose.

(3) The Broadcasting Authority shall give the person supplying the information
in confidence a reasonable opportunity to make representations on a proposed
disclosure of the information under subsection (2)(c) or (d) and shall
consider all representations made before the Broadcasting  Authority makes a
final decision to disclose the information.

(4) A person may permit, subject to such conditions as the person may specify,
the Broadcasting Authority, the Telecommunications Authority or any person
authorized by the Broadcasting Authority or the Telecommunications Authority-

   (a)  to divulge specified information which the person has given thereto;
        or

   (b)  to show any specified document or any copy thereof which the person
        has produced thereto, to any person or to any specified person.

(5) In this section, "data, book, document or record"
(數據、簿冊、文件或紀錄) means the same as it does in
section 25(10). "data, book, document or record"
(數據、簿冊、文件或紀錄)