On 9th January 2013, we received a question, today we ANSWER:
What is your comment for those who are selling House Owner Master Listing online/offline? Is this against the law or any legal issue? For both Vendor & Purchaser.
Besides this House Owner Master Listing, what about those selling customer data, perhaps from banks, insurance company, etc…
Till today, there is still a lack of mechanism to protect data such as House Owner Master Listing, be it online or offline. This applies to both vendor and purchaser. The only protection measure that comes to mind is a contractual clause stating that the usage of the personal data is strictly confidential where selling out the data would cause a contractual breach. Morally, the reputation of the data provider will also be at stake in the long run.
The enforcement of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA) which criminalises unauthorized use of personal data is still being delay. Only when the PDPA 2010 comes into effect that the unauthorized selling of personal data will be penalized when caught. The basis of the law is simple, disclosure of personal data is only possible with express consent of the owners.