A proposed anti-doxxing bill carrying maximum penalties of five years in prison and a HK$1-million fine is expected to be tabled in the Legislative Council for its second and third readings on October 13.
The bills committee has finished scrutinizing the proposed bill and will submit a report to the house committee on September 24. Then the bill should move to the full council.
The bill also proposes a new offense of disclosing personal data without a person’s consent, Privacy Commissioner Ada Chung Lai-ling said.
“We would first contact the person who disclosed it to remove the information before taking legal action,” she explained. “We would also ask online platforms to take action if necessary.”
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai said: “Not only does the bill target people who disclose others’ personal information, but it also introduces legal consequences for online platforms that refuse to remove these data.”
The amendment bill for the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, gazetted on July 16, had proposed the new offense of revealing others’ data with an intent to threaten, intimidate or harass.
The amendment also proposes empowering the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data to carry out criminal investigations and initiate prosecutions.
The commissioner would also have the power to request documents and information from anyone, to search premises, arrest people who obstruct investigations, and to access electronic devices without a warrant.
It also proposes to introduce an extra-territorial effect.
That would mean the privacy commissioner could send cessation notices – they would state specific actions that should be taken to remove doxxing content and their deadlines – to people or internet service providers outside Hong Kong.
Government officials have been attempting to list doxxing – publicly releasing private information or revealing confidential details about an individual or an organization – as a criminal offense after details about policemen and judges were released online following protest actions in 2019.
Some officers received threats after their home addresses and children’s schools were revealed by anti-government protesters.
The proposed anti-doxxing bill has caused concerns across some international associations.
Among them, the Asia Internet Coalition, an association representing the internet industry, submitted a letter to the Office of the Private Commissioner for Personal Data in June.
It argued the legislation must be built upon principles of need and proportionality as it could curtail free expression.
Officials responded that the scope of the doxxing bill is focused and target-specific, claiming that it struck the right balance between protecting privacy and freedom of speech.
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