Guest of Honour

Dr Janil Puthucheary
Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Transport & Ministry of Communications and Information

Synopsis

Twin events suggests that privacy is under threat globally. First, Big Tech companies collect, store, mine and sometimes share data of their users with third parties whether in exchange for a payment or otherwise. These data points have the potential to reveal to these third parties the most intimate and private characteristics of a person. It is unsurprising that the data is prized as it may be used to influence these users in various insidious ways.

Second, the prevalence of data breaches all over the world by hackers poses a great danger to privacy. In Singapore, there have been major data breaches where personal medical records have been stolen by third parties and, in some cases, publicised on the Internet. In light of these developments, should we accept that an individual’s privacy is truly over as the price to pay for the convenience of the Internet?

The Dentons Rodyk Dialogue brings together an exciting line up comprising world-renowned privacy scholar from Hong Kong University, Professor Anne Cheung and Singapore's cybersecurity czar David Koh, leading figures on digital security to discuss the future directions of privacy in the age of social media and data breaches. The Dentons Rodyk Dialogue promises new insights on the future of privacy in this ever changing landscape.

Programme

Panellists

Dr Janil Puthucheary
Senior Minister of State
Ministry of Transport & Ministry of Communications and Information

Dr Janil Puthucheary, 45, was elected Member of Parliament in 2011. He is currently Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information and Ministry of Transport.

He chairs OnePeople.sg, which works to promote racial harmony in Singapore; and the Young PAP, the youth wing of the People's Action Party.

Professor Anne Cheung
University of Hong Kong

Professor Anne S.Y. Cheung received her legal education at The University of Hong Kong (LL.B), The University of Toronto (J.D.), University of London (LL.M) and Stanford University (JSD). She teaches Law and Society and Media Law. Her research interests are in freedom of expression, privacy, children’s rights (including cyberbullying and domestic violence), and law and society studies. In 2008, she received the Outstanding Young Researcher Award by the University of Hong Kong.

She is a committee member of the Hong Kong Press Council and she is one of the principal investigators of the CLIC Project (Community Legal Information Centre, www.hkclic.org) and Youth Clic (youth.clic.org.hk). She and her team are currently building a website for seniors in Hong Kong. She worked on the Open Net Initiative (Asia) Project to study online freedom of speech in the form of blogging in China. Currently, she is working with Privacy International (UK) to study privacy protection in Hong Kong and China, and working with Media Alternative (the Philippines) to study eGovernance in Hong Kong and Asia.

Mr David Koh
Chief Executive
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore

Mr David Koh is concurrently the Deputy Secretary (Technology) and Deputy Secretary (Special Projects) of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Chief Executive of the newly created Cyber Security Agency (CSA) of Singapore. Prior to his current appointments, Mr Koh served in the Singapore Armed Forces and has held varied command and staff appointments in MINDEF and the SAF. As the Chief Executive of CSA, he leads CSA’s efforts to provide dedicated and centralised oversight of national cyber security’s functions.

These include strategy and policy development, cyber security operations, industry development and outreach. Mr Koh and his team will also work closely with the private sector to develop Singapore’s cyber security ecosystem. He sits on the Boards of the Media Development Authority (MDA), Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), DSO National Laboratories (DSO) and Temasek Defence Systems Institute (TDSI) Mr Koh graduated from King’s College, University of London, UK, with a Bachelors degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. He also has a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, USA.

Mr Gilbert Leong
Senior Partner
Dentons Rodyk

Gilbert Leong is a senior partner in Dentons Rodyk's Intellectual Property & Technology practice group.

Gilbert has extensive experience in negotiating and drafting commercial agreements in relation to distribution of goods/services, procurement and tenders, manufacturing arrangements, acquisition of hardware, software development, licensing, maintenance, acquisition of intellectual property such as trademark and patents, computer turnkey projects, consultancy services, IP structuring, Internet related transactions cloud computing and E-commerce. Gilbert also provides advice on aspects of joint ventures, alliances and mergers & acquisitions.

He has also been counsel to parties involved in the telecommunication industry. In particular, he has advised on disputes arising as between telecommunication licensees, application for licences, market access and infrastructural issues. Gilbert has also been very active in the field of data privacy/protection matters, having acted for large financial institutions, healthcare providers, and industrial companies. He has also written and spoken widely on the area. As a member of the Legal Sub-Committee of the National Internet Advisory Committee, Gilbert participated in the drafting to the "Model Data Protection Code for the Private Sector".

Gilbert's IP litigation experience includes copyright (software) suits, patent infringements as well as obtaining and executing search & seizure warrants. Additionally, he has prosecuted parties under a fiat from the Attorney General for offences under both the Trade Marks Act and Copyright Act. Gilbert also attends to hearings before the Trade Mark registry.

In addition to his legal qualifications, Gilbert also holds a Certificate in Computer Programming and Information Processing from the City & Guilds of London Institute. Gilbert has authored numerous articles and given speeches on a variety of intellectual property rights, technology issues and electronic commerce.

Gilbert was also a member of several technology-focused think tanks in Singapore.

About the Dentons Rodyk Dialogue

The Dentons Rodyk Dialogue is a partnership between Dentons Rodyk and Singapore Management University (SMU) to create a major forum for thought leaders to share ideas and views affecting Asia’s legal, business, cultural and economic landscape. Ultimately, it is hoped that these conversations would influence attitudes and policies resulting in a better world for all. The Dentons Rodyk Dialogue aims to be the essential event for legal, business and academic leaders to converge in order to discuss pressing issues and world trends. The Dialogue is an event organised under the auspices of SMU School of Law’s Centre for Cross-border Commercial Law in Asia.