儘管在我們入稟覆核政府的禁制令後，法庭頒令收窄範圍，釐清在執行上必須要確保發布及散播內容人士是有意圖煽動暴力，但是岑敖暉收到律政司信件，被要求移除有關周梓樂之死的文章一事，證明網絡自由繼續受到衝擊。

我們擔憂政府可以透過濫用禁制令廣泛而含糊不清的條文，威脅香港資訊流通的自由，因此我們當時入稟覆核禁制令。然而，我們對於律政師在法庭釐清禁制令後，指控岑敖暉煽動暴力，要求他移除文章感到失望。我們亦十分擔憂律政師的行動將擴大寒蟬效應和白色恐怖，進一步摧毀我們在網上發表言論的自由 —— 我們不應忍受政府不斷擴張的審查力量。

多得各位參與眾籌，我們入稟覆核後仍餘下大約港幣一百三十萬，可以用於對抗政府威脅網絡及言論自由的舉動。針對律政司要求移除文章，我們正在與律師團隊商討任何可能的法律行動。我們會繼續保持警惕，維護開放和自由的網絡；我們亦呼籲你一起並肩捍衛網絡及言論自由。​

Although the court narrowed the scope, and clarified that only those with the intent and purpose to incite violence will be found guilty after our civil action challenging the injunction, the letter received by Lester Shum requiring removal of the article about Alex Chow’s death proves that online freedom of speech is still under attack. 

We had been concerned that the government could abuse the injunction’s broad and vague language and threaten freedom of speech online; therefore, we took the civil action to challenge the order. We are disappointed about the Department of Justice’s claim that Lester Shum’s article incites violence and requires removal of the article after the court’s clarification, and we are deeply worried that the chilling effect amplified by the Department of Justice’s action will further stifle our freedom to express ourselves online. We must not endure the expansion of the government’s censorship power. 

Thanks to your support, we have a remaining amount of around HKD 1.3 million from the crowdfunding campaign for the civil action against the injunction that can support necessary actions to fight against threats imposed by the government on freedom of speech online. Regarding the Department of Justice’s action of requiring removal of the article, we are in discussion with our legal team about any possible legal actions. We will stay vigilant to guard our free and open Internet and we call upon you to join the efforts. 

Read more

2020年5月14日，香港 —— 香港互聯網協會發起了「香港開放數據指數」計劃（下稱「計劃」），旨在引入國際開放數據標準和經驗，定期評估和監察香港開放數據發展情況，並推動完善相關政策。首份報告今日（5月14日）發佈。報告指出，政府已透過各部門網站披露豐富資料，但一批與公眾利益相關的數據仍未經開放數據平台「資料一線通」釋出，未能滿足開放標準，而各部門對標準的應用不一，令市民無所適從。報告建議政府設立網上公眾參與平台，根據市民所需決定應開放的數據及優先次序，並成立跨部門工作小組審視及解決標準問題。

研究發現「資料一線通」未收錄部分重要數據，政府各部門應用標準不一 

是次研究涵蓋政府開放數據網站「資料一線通」、其他政府部門、公營機構及個別私人公司的網站，整體而言資料豐富，不過單計「資料一線通」的可得程度就只得7.27分（滿分為10），較其他網站平均分9.02為低，表示部分現存於政府部門網站的重要數據尚未以開放數據形式透過「資料一線通」釋出，包括政府招標公告、聯絡方式、旅遊警示、公共房屋（包括輪候時間及編配狀況）等等。研究的檢視清單是透過回顧國際標準及本地諮詢程序後得出，能反應數據的重要性。

報告另一項發現是政府各部門應用的標準不一甚至有缺失，問題較嚴重的包括開放授權、元數據、永久保存（檔案）等指標。例如「資料一線通」的開放授權標準允許作商業用途，但有部分出現於政府部門網站的同樣數據則「僅限於作個人用途或非商業性質的內部用途」，顯示出政府各網上平台及各部門之間的版權條款亦不一致，可能令人誤墮法網。此外，報告發現大量數據集並無配備完整的元數據(metadata)，某些政府部門甚至未能妥善保存曾經發佈過的歷史數據，或未有開放公眾網上查閱。

政府應根據公眾需求開放數據，成立跨部門工作小組 統一數據發佈標準

香港互聯網協會認為政府應當根據市民所需優先開放具社會及經濟價值的數據，建議設立互動參與平台，讓市民公開提出需求及理據，亦可就數據標準提出意見。政府應就市民需求作公開回應，不單開放數據本身亦開放參與過程。上海和臺北等鄰近城市已成立開放數據公眾參與平台，值得香港借鏡；同時，協會建議政府成立跨部門工作小組以審視標準，由政府不同部門的專家參與，於數據管理、資訊科技、法律、行政管理、檔案各方面督促各部門按統一標準發佈數據。

關於香港互聯網協會

香港互聯網協會是國際互聯網協會(ISOC) 的香港分會。成立於2005年，香港互聯網協會致力維護一個無論在科技或政策層面均開放和無障礙的互聯網，和為一個可持續發展和豐富人類經驗的資訊社會做出貢獻。 香港互聯網協會亦推廣一個開放、不受限制和有益的互聯網；捍衛表達及言論自由、保障個人私隱和反對歧視。

關於「香港開放數據指數」計劃

香港政府把開放數據納入「香港智慧城市藍圖」發展計劃，各政策局和部門自2018年起每年發佈開放數據計劃。 有見及此，香港互聯網協會建立了一套評估工具，參考19組國際和地區性的評估工具及標準，同時綜合本地持份者意見，以12個開放數據指標包括開放授權、機器可讀、元數據等，測量16個關鍵類別如政府運作、土地、交通等的數據。計劃將每年發布香港開放數據指數評估以追踪發展進度。計劃歡迎社會各界就開放數據指數的評估方法提出意見及建議，協會亦將推出公眾小額月捐計劃，使研究以獨立方式持續運作以進行年度評估，監察香港開放數據進程，與持份者共同推動開放數據發展。詳情可參閱計劃網頁https://opendata.isoc.hk/。

左起 starting from the left：「香港開放數據指數」研究員 周穗斌， g0vhk發起人 黃浩華，香港互聯網協會董事 鄭斌彬  Benjamin Zhou, Researcher of “Hong Kong Open Data Index”; Ben Cheng, Director of Internet Society Hong Kong; Ho Wa Wong, Convener of g0vhk

“Hong Kong Open Data Index” reveals the progress and shortcomings of open data in HK — Internet Society Hong Kong urges the government to respond to public needs, open up data and improve data releasing standards 

May 14th, 2020, Hong Kong– Internet Society Hong Kong (ISOC HK) has started the “Hong Kong Open Data Index” initiative (the initiative), aimed at introducing international open data standards and practices, assessing and monitoring Hong Kong open data development, and driving the enhancement of open data policy in Hong Kong. The first assessment has been launched today (May 14th), revealing that while the government has already published a wide range of datasets, some datasets concerning matters of public interest are still not published on the government’s data portal, “data.gov.hk” and have failed to fulfill open data standards. Moreover, different departments are publishing their datasets with different standards, causing inconvenience to data use. The report suggests the government establish an online public participation platform to gauge public opinion and set the priorities of publishing data accordingly; furthermore, the government should set up a cross-departmental task force to review and coordinate the standards for releasing datasets. 

Findings: critical data sets missing  from “data.gov.hk”; different departments apply different standards in releasing datasets 

The assessment covered the government’s data portal, “data.gov.hk”, and other websites, including those of individual government departments, non-governmental organisations and private companies. It was discovered that although most datasets are available, “data.gov.hk” scored only 7.27 in terms of dataset availability (out of 10), poorer than the performance of other websites (scored 9.02). Some critical datasets that are available on websites of individual government departments are not yet published in the form of open data on “data.gov.hk”, for example, the government’s calls for tender and contact points, travel alerts,  and public housing (including waiting time and allocation status). The list of dataset categories should be considered significant since it was decided according to a review of international open data standards and local stakeholder consultation.

On the other hand, the report revealed that different government departments applied various releasing standards, exhibiting particularly poor performances in indicators such as Open licence, Metadata, and Historical records. For instance, “Data.gov.hk” adopts Open licence, allowing the public to freely obtain, reuse, and redistribute datasets, but the same dataset published on the website of the government department only allows “personal use or non-commercial internal use”. The inconsistent standards of publishing data between the data portal and department websites pose potential legal risks to data users. Apart from this, the report revealed that many datasets are not accompanied by metadata; also, some government departments have not maintained nor published the historical records (archives) of data online.

The government should open up data according to public demand and set up a cross-departmental task force to unify the standards of publishing data 

Internet Society Hong Kong urges the government to prioritise publishing datasets providing social and economic value according to public opinion. By setting up an online public participation platform, citizens can voice their requests and reasons, as well as making suggestions about the standards of publishing datasets. The government should not only set up a public participation platform, it should respond openly to the requests made by the public, and make the participation process open and transparent. Other regions, such as Shanghai and Taipei, have already established public participation platforms for open data. The Hong Kong government should learn from other regions to enhance Hong Kong’s open data performance. At the same time, the Society also urges the government to set up a cross-departmental open data task force to review the standards of publishing data. The task force should consist of experts from different departments to supervise each department on  data management, information technology, law, administrative management, etc. and unify the standards of publishing data. 

About Internet Society Hong Kong 

Internet Society Hong Kong is the Hong Kong chapter of the Internet Society. Established in 2005, ISOC HK envisions an open and accessible network, in both technology and policy, and contributes to and provides a platform for sustainable development of the information society, which enriches the human experience. ISOC HK is dedicated to the open, unencumbered, beneficial use of the Internet; the upholding of the freedom of expression and opinion, privacy of personal information, and elimination of social discrimination; through responsible self-regulation and harmonised governance.

About “Hong Kong Open Data Index”

The Hong Kong government adopted Open Data into its “Smart City Blueprint” strategic development. Since 2018, more than 80 bureaux and departments have started publishing their open data plans annually. To fill the knowledge gap and enhance open data policy in Hong Kong, Internet Society Hong Kong therefore initiated the “Hong Kong Open Data Index” project. The Index was established through a review of and reference to 19 international and regional assessment tools and standards, as well as consultation with local stakeholders, using 12 indicators (eg. open licence, machine-readable, metadata, etc.) to measure 16 critical data set categories (eg. government operations, land, housing, etc.). Annual assessment will be conducted to keep track of the progress of open data development in Hong Kong. The project welcomes opinions and suggestions from different sectors regarding the assessment methodology. Meanwhile, the project is launching a public monthly small donation scheme, aimed at enabling an independent operation of the Index. For more information, please visit https://opendata.isoc.hk/.

Read more

Internet Society Hong Kong (ISOC HK) is the local chapter organization of the Internet Society (ISOC), which is an international, not-for-profit society with more than 80,000 individual members and up to 143 organization members in over 110 chapters around the world. The Internet Society achieves change through partnership and expertise in policy, technology and communications. ISOC-HK was formed in 2005 by local veteran Internet professionals with the mission to improve the practice of Internet governance and online civil society in Hong Kong.

We are looking for a high caliber candidate to join us.

Duties/Responsibilities:

Essential Duties:

• Provide administrative support to the Secretariat, including documentation, handling enquiries and projects’ activities.
• Manage website, Facebook page, and monthly eDM.
• Facilitate monthly board meeting, including agenda preparation and meeting minutes.
• Coordinate and follow up on activities / actions item following board meeting.
• Report to the board.

Additional Duties (Subjects to experience of candidate):

• Facilitate and manage events, policy research, training workshops, fundraising and other projects related to the goal and mission of ISOC HK.

Requirements:

• Diploma or above, with 1-2 year relevant experience
• Outgoing personality with good interpersonal and communication skills
• Self-motivated, mature and independent
• Good command of both spoken and written English and Chinese
• Knowledge in Internet Security, Privacy, Open Data, Technology related Policies is an advantage
• Experience in Tech events organizing / policy research / fund raising is an advantage
• Immediately available is highly preferable

Job Type:

• Part Time (10 hours per week for essential duties, flexible for additional duties if applicable.)
• Full Time

Remarks:

The entry pay, terms of appointment to be offered are subject to the provisions prevailing at the time the offer of appointment is made.

Interested parties please email detailed resume with present / expected salary and available date to [email protected] Recruitment will be conducted on a rolling basis.

Personal data collected will be used for recruitment purpose only.

Posted on 2020-04-27

Read more

疫情籠罩之下，公衆對相關資訊需求大增，政府發佈會、新聞稿、部門網站公告等傳統官方資訊渠道雖然權威，但失於零碎，惟有將不同來源的已核實數據整合為更為清晰的動態全景圖，「一文睇清」，方能令市民充分知情而採取有效防範措施。新型冠狀病毒爆發後，無論海內外，官方及民間先後推出各類有簡明互動圖像的網上資訊平臺。

展示方式之外，數據如何開放，開放多少乃更深層次問題，而開放公共衛生數據的一項難題是如何處理病人私隱。

疫情資訊平臺以視覺化方式

數據視覺化（data visualization）在近年「大數據」熱潮下於傳媒、公民社會及商業項目中廣泛應用，更成為近來大型事件發生時資訊呈現的常態。「武漢肺炎民間資訊」（https://wars.vote4.hk/）是香港最早出現的疫情資訊平台，網站製作人1月26日開始行動兩日便搭建完畢，實時呈現疫情及出入境數字等，亦綜合政府消息及媒體報導等整理出高危地區的互動地圖，包括確診人士曾經逗留的地方，隔離檢疫地點等，全部註明出處。

與以往社會事件不同，今次官方亦有動作，於2月3日推出「本地情況互動地圖儀表版（Interactive Map Dashboard）」，由「發展局、地政總署以及一群智慧城市聯盟的義工合力開發和管理」，同樣在地圖中標示出高危地點，亦有急診室輪候時間等，資料來源當然僅限政府。事有巧合，新加坡亦有類似的儀表版COVID-19 Situation Dashboard，連網頁載入過程中的「Loading」圖標都與香港一模一樣？！追查之下，原來星港兩地都似乎「參考」翰霍普金斯大學（Johns Hopkins University）系統科學和工程中心早於1月22日推出的「儀表板」卻未予聲明，後者數據和部分網頁代碼早已透過網絡平台Github共享，理論上人人皆可套用，但他人使用時應說明來源。

保障私隱仍是開放公共衛生數據難題

視覺化終究是呈現方式，開放數據更為核心，而病人私隱是開放公共衛生數據中的一個長期爭議點。香港衛生防護中心已經用開放數據形式每日公佈個案，其中一份清單有確診者的性別和年齡，姓名則以個案編號代替，但無住址，顯然是要保護當事人私隱，其他地方諸如新加坡、日本（只提供出生年代而無具體年齡）做法亦大致如是。不過，如上文所述，公佈確診人士逗留過的地點屬必要，有助公眾提高警覺，於是政府另行公佈一份確診者居住及到訪過的大廈名單，并註明相應個案編號。

其實，兩張清單都有個案編號，即可關聯，術語叫「開放數據連結」（Linked Open Data）。再結合其他公開資料，不難還原確診者真實身分，例如第85宗個案是一名馬主，傳媒在報導時直稱其姓名。私隱與公眾利益的矛盾是難題，統統訴諸法律手段亦不現實，一種較好的方式是呈現上避免專注個案，而採用更關乎公眾利益的空間分佈方式（例如地理圖），上述各數據視覺化平台即是如此。

在未有完美解決方案時，須抱以誠實、誠懇的態度處理，甚至能化危為機，反之亦然。

文：周穗斌（香港互聯網協會研究員）
2020年2月

Read more

Date: 25th Feb, 2020 (Tue)
Time: 19:00 – 21:00 HKT (11:00 – 13:00 UTC)
Venue: Zoom meeting room (the link will be sent to your email address)
Language: English
Registration: https://forms.gle/YcUQurDxk1MD9Xax9

Speakers:

• Dr. Masato Kajimoto, Assistant Professor of Practice, Journalism and Media Studies Centre, HKU
• Mr. George Chen, Head of Public Policy (Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mongolia), Facebook
• Mr. Eric Wishart, News Management, Agence France-Presse (AFP)
• Hon Charles Mok, Legislative Councillor (IT Constituency)

Due to the partial border closure in China, Hong Kong will be short of food and toilet paper supply? Hong Kong citizens have queued up and jostled for food and toilet paper —in face of all sorts of overwhelming information, how can we identify the fact? How can different stakeholders coordinate and collaborate to combat disinformation?

Let’s discuss at HKIGF#4: Combating Disinformation! do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions or inquiries!

Read more