While Belinda Pui of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data said she could not comment specifically on the case, she said that an exception provision called Section 58 in the Privacy Ordinance allows for the release of personal data under "quite a number of exceptions."

One of the exceptions is that while personal data cannot be used without the subject's permission for a purpose for which it wasn't originally intended, information related to the "detection of a crime or prevention of unlawful conduct" can be released without the customer's permission.

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"The data user may use Section 58 to disclose the data. I think that compliance with a court order is consistent with the original collection purpose. It is the general principle," Pui said.

Her comments came after the Hong Kong Internet Service Providers' Association said Tuesday it will respect the privacy of users but was bound by local laws.

"Third parties requesting ISPs to conduct data matching and disclosure of personal data should base such a request on solid and verifiable evidence," association chairman York Mok was quoted as saying in an AFP report.

Mok said they must also be fully responsible for all costs and damages attributable to such requests.

The association represents 60 ISPs in Hong Kong including Yahoo, IBM and PCCW, one of the local providers being pursued.

The others being challenged are Hutchison Global Communications, Hong Kong Cable and i-Cable Communications, all of which so far have declined to comment on the territory's first legal battle against online piracy by the music industry.

The move was part of a concerted global action taken by 17 countries on November 15, launched by London- based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

IFPI Hong Kong said it had locked onto the Internet protocol addresses of the 22 individuals engaging in illegal file sharing on the Internet. It hoped to seek compensation by bringing civil lawsuits.

However, it could not identify them without the help of the ISPs.

The hearing of the case has been scheduled for Tuesday.

IFPI Hong Kong blames online and CD piracy for losses of more than HK$1 billion annually and a 20 percent drop in the number of people working in the music business.

"We really don't know in which circumstances the court would allow ISPs to provide personal data to the IFPI," Pui said. "But if it occurs the ISPs must comply with the court order."