Anti-doxxing bill's second reading on Oct 13

An anti-doxxing bill which proposes a HK$1 million fine and five years in jail as a maximum penalty is expected to be tabled to Legislative Council for second reading on October 13.

Doxxing - publicly releasing private or identifying information about an individual or organization without their consent - came under scrutiny after details about police and judges were released online following the unrest. Some officers' home addresses and children's schools were exposed by anti-government protesters, leading to threats.

The amendment bill for the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance proposed that a person commits an offense if the person discloses any personal data of a data subject without the data subject’s consent, with an intent to threaten, intimidate or harass the data subject or any immediate family member. It also proposed that the maximum penalty for a person who contravenes the offense on conviction on indictment be a HK$1 million fine and five-year imprisonment.

For a person who contravenes the offense on summary conviction, the maximum penalty carries a HK$100,000 fine and two-year imprisonment.

The amendment bill also proposed empowering the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data to carry out criminal investigations and initiate prosecution, as well as to remove relevant doxxed information.

The LegCo bill committee has finished scrutinizing the bill, and will hand in a report to house committee on September 24. The bill is expected to go through second reading on Legco on October 13.