Competition Commission sheds light on sensitive info risks in short drama

Hong Kong's Competition Commission has launched a campaign to raise public awareness and help businesses understand potential issues related to sharing sensitive information.

This comes as businesses in a free market economy compete to offer the best products at the best prices. The Competition Commission aims to foster a competitive environment that supports trade, efficiency, and innovation, ultimately offering Hong Kong consumers more choices and better quality goods and services.

Also known as “Forbidden secrets: Exchange of sensitive information” (禁忌之密語), the campaign is a collaboration with local creative agency GAIA Communications and targets both the public and businesses. It seeks to enhance public awareness and businesses’ understanding of potential issues concerning “Exchange of sensitive information” under the Competition Ordinance. 

To effectively convey these complex messages through engaging storytelling, the campaign has developed an entertaining series of three short drama episodes centred around a love story, with each episode delivering one key message. This approach aims to captivate viewers, make difficult ideas more relatable, and facilitate better understanding of the content.

The short drama features local artists Kandy Wong and Philip Ng, chosen for their chemistry and contrasting heights, which add humour and enhance their on-screen partnership, making the narrative even more enjoyable.

The story is set in a lively fruit market, where Wong initially believes she shares everything with the Ng. However, as the plot unfolds, she realises their relationship is toxic. The seemingly innocent sharing involves sensitive commercial information, such as pricing, highlighting that such exchanges can harm competition.

The campaign is promoted through online channels such as YouTube and banners, along with out-of-home ads including tram bodies, MTR stations, and SOGO.

In tandem, the Commission has also published a brochure that explains the conduct in an easy-to-understand manner, with hypothetical examples illustrating different scenarios for businesses’ reference. A roving exhibition and thematic seminars on the topic will be organised at a later stage.

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Rasul Butt, chief executive officer of the commission, said: “To the public in general, the impact of exchanging commercially sensitive information on competition may not be as obvious as other forms of anticompetitive conduct such as bid-rigging or price-fixing, but such conduct likewise does have the potential of inflicting harm on competition and consumers. From our past engagement with businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, we understand that there is a need for them to communicate with other enterprises in the same trade in their normal course of business."

But at the same time, they are worried about the possibility of contravening the ordinance when they share sensitive information. To address their concern, the campaign launched today will provide practical information and guidance to help businesses identify and avoid such risks," he added. 

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