Hong Kong transport authorities will “actively explore” the secure storage of ride-hailing data ahead of new regulations for the industry due to take effect in August, as part of efforts to ensure compliance with national security. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan on Monday stopped short of revealing whether data about users collected by ride-hailing platforms in Hong Kong would be required to be kept in the city, but stressed the importance of privacy and security. “Our principle and emphasis are on the protection of data safety and national security. The storage, transfer, and backup of data have to be conducted securely,” she told lawmakers at a Legislative Council panel meeting on the new regulations, adding that the issue would be handled seriously. Deputy Secretary for Transport and Logistics Kirk Yip Hoi-ying said the regulation included clauses related to protecting national security in licences for ride-hailing platforms. He said that given the volume of personal data involved, operators must “strictly adhere to privacy regulations”. “The clauses will stipulate that personal data collected can only be used for providing ride-hailing services and [ride-hailing platforms] would have to acquire their clients’ approval first,” he said, adding that authorities would explore the safest and most appropriate data storage arrangements. His remarks came after lawmaker Mark Chong Ho-fung raised concerns that ride-hailing data, including politicians’ travel patterns, those of their families and the locations they frequent, could pose national security risks. He asked Transport and Logistics Bureau officials whether such data would be stored in Hong Kong or another jurisdiction accessible to the city, and whether licensing conditions would regulate the issue. Fellow lawmaker Chan Siu-hung said “national security takes priority no matter what” but also stressed the importance of privacy-related laws, urging the authorities to carefully consider the locations of servers. “I’m concerned that if the servers are placed outside Hong Kong – such as in Southeast Asia, the United States or Europe – and if geopolitical conflicts arose, the servers might stop working with certain regions and the platforms could be paralysed,” Chan said. “This could cause instability and significantly affect commuters,” he added, calling on the government to clarify “as soon as possible” how long platforms would be required to retain and back up data so they could make adequate preparations. Seeking to address a regulatory gap of more than a decade, the government has proposed a cap of 10,000 vehicles under a new ride-hailing licensing regime covering platforms, vehicles and drivers. US-based Uber, which has dominated Hong Kong’s ride-hailing market amid a regulatory vacuum for 12 years, said the proposed quota would account for only one-third of the more than 30,000 active drivers on its platform. The 10,000-permit cap would be shared among operators such as Uber, Tada, DiDi and Amap. Amap is operated by Alibaba Group Holding, which also owns the South China Morning Post. The bureau said earlier that it aimed to have the legislation passed before the Legco’s summer recess begins.