The Communications Authority is a

statutory body A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example reg ...

responsible for licensing and regulating the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. It was formed in 2012 through a merger of the

Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority The Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority (HKBA) was an organisation responsible for licensing and regulating the broadcasting industry in Hong Kong. It was formed in 1987. The organisation was authorised to investigate complaints made regarding pro ...

Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority or (TELA) was an entertainment regulatory agency in Hong Kong under the Government of Hong Kong. On 1 April 2012, TELA merged with Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority and Office of the Telecommuni ...

, and the Telecommunications Authority. The organisation is authorized to investigate complaints made regarding programmes, issue warnings and fines, or even suspend the license of the radio or television station. The authority enforces the Broadcasting Ordinance (Cap. 562), the Telecommunications Ordinance (Cap. 106), the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance (Cap. 593), Communications Authority Ordinance, and the Broadcasting (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 391). The

regulatory agency A regulatory agency (regulatory body, regulator) or independent agency (independent regulatory agency) is a government authority that is responsible for exercising autonomous dominion over some area of human activity in a licensing and regulatin ...

is ostensibly independent of the government, but its executive functions are supported by the

Office of the Communications Authority The Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) is an executive arm of the Communications Authority in Hong Kong. It is the body responsible for telecommunications regulation (through the Regulatory Affairs Branch), antitrust enforcement (thro ...

(OFCA), a government department with a self-funding trust structure. In 2020, the Communications Authority issued a statement against

RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...

concerning a comedy show for purportedly "denigrating and insulting" the

Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Po ...

Structure

The CA is headed by a chair and 11 other members: The current Board of the CA consist of: * Winnie TAM Wan-chi, SC - Chair * Eliza LEE Man-ching, JP - Vice-Chair * Karen CHAN Ka-yin, JP * Stephen HUNG Wan-shun * Yvonne LAW SHING Mo-han, BBS, JP * Thomas LO Sui-sing, JP * Hubert NG Ching-wah * Anthony William SEETO Yiu-wai * Benjamin TANG Kwok-bun, GBS * XU Yan * Ray YEP Kin-man * Agnes WONG Tin-yu, JP

List of Chairman

* Ambrose Ho 2012–2017: former Chairman of the Broadcasting Authority 2008-2012 * Mr Huen Wong, BBS, JP 2017-? * Ms Winnie TAM Wan-chi, SC ?-present

Comparisons

Similar bodies around the world are: *

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

: Australian Communications and Media Authority *

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

(CRTC) *

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication The Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (; ARCOM) is the resulting from the merger on 1 January 2022 of the High Audiovisual Council (CSA) and the High Authority for the Distribution of Works and Protection of Rights ...

(formerly Superior Audiovisual Council and earlier ORTF) *

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Office of Communications The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

(Ofcom) *

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC)

References

External links

* {{authority control 2012 establishments in Hong Kong Commucations Authority Hong Kong government departments and agencies Communications and media organizations