Hong KongUnsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance, sender information, unsubscribe facility and subject headings
Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance (Cap. 593), ss. 8-10, 12 and 58
In force.
A commercial messages rule binding public and private bodies.
- Enforcement body
- Communications Authority
- Obligation class
- Consent, Disclosure, Data subject rights, Retention
As of .
What it requires
- Include in every commercial electronic message with a Hong Kong link clear and accurate information identifying, and giving a way to contact, the individual or organization that authorized it, valid for at least 30 days (section 8).
- Include a clear and conspicuous statement and a free unsubscribe facility that can receive requests for at least 30 days after sending (section 9(1)).
- Stop sending, and stop authorizing others to send, commercial electronic messages to an address within 10 working days after an unsubscribe request, unless the recipient has consented since (section 10).
- Keep a record of each unsubscribe request, in the format received or one that represents it accurately, for at least 3 years (section 9(3)).
- Do not use a subject heading on a commercial electronic mail message that would be likely to mislead the recipient about a material fact (section 12).
- Do not use information obtained from an unsubscribe request for any purpose other than complying with sections 9 and 10 (section 58(1)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
A person who contravenes an enforcement notice served for a breach of Part 2 commits an offence: a fine at level 6 on a first conviction, and a fine of $500,000 on a second or later conviction with a further daily fine of $1,000 while the offence continues, subject to a defence of due diligence to comply (section 39). Using information from an unsubscribe request for another purpose is an offence carrying a fine at level 6 on summary conviction, and a fine of $1,000,000 and imprisonment for 5 years on indictment if done knowingly (section 58).
Penalty structure
Fine on indictment for knowingly misusing information from an unsubscribe request under section 58(4), with imprisonment of up to 5 years; contravening an enforcement notice carries up to $500,000 on a second or later conviction under section 39(2).
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- HKD
- Fixed cap
- 1,000,000
What this law does
Section 8 bars sending a commercial electronic message that has a Hong Kong link unless it includes clear and accurate information identifying and allowing contact with the individual or organization that authorized it. Section 9 requires each such message to include a clear and conspicuous unsubscribe facility that is free for the recipient and works for at least 30 days, and requires the person who receives an unsubscribe request to retain a record of it for at least 3 years.
Section 10 requires the sender to stop sending within 10 working days after an unsubscribe request, unless the recipient has since consented, and section 12 bars a commercial electronic mail message whose subject heading would be likely to mislead the recipient about a material fact. Sections 8, 9 and 10 do not apply to a message sent by mistake, or where the sender did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained that it had a Hong Kong link.
Section 58 makes it an offence for a person who receives an unsubscribe request to use information obtained through it for any purpose other than complying with sections 9 and 10, punishable on summary conviction by a fine at level 6 and, if done knowingly, on indictment by a fine of $1,000,000 and imprisonment for 5 years.
Schedule 1 exempts from Part 2 a message sent within a reasonable time in response to information the recipient communicated, a message that facilitates or confirms a transaction the recipient agreed to, a notification about an existing subscription or account, and a message about an employment relationship.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app sends automated outreach.