Legal Affairs EP07 | Privacy Commissioner has 'through-train' power to probe against doxxing under amended ordinance

On Sept. 29, 2021, the Legislative Council of Hong Kong passed the Personal Data (Privacy) (Amendment) Bill 2021, which came into force on Oct. 8, 2021. The amended ordinance officially criminalized doxxing and further empowered the Privacy Commissioner to investigate relevant cases.

In this episode of Legal Affairs, we invite Stephen Wong, Former Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, to explain to us the changes under the amended law.

The legislative framework for personal data protection in HK was enacted in 1995 and had been in force for about 25 years. HK citizens' fundamental human rights related to privacy are protected under the Basic Law, Wong said.

"The right to privacy, however, sometimes has to make a concession when it conflicts with public interests, HK's stability and national security," Wong stressed.

In recent years, personal data security has become a topic of heated discussion. Before the amendment, there were various cases where offenders weaponized personal information and caused great mental and psychological suffering to the victims and their families.

Wong explained that the original ordinance stipulated a number of privacy protection principles, but there were inevitably certain limitations, which gave way to criminal behaviors. This was one reason why the ordinance had to be amended, he said.

However, many of these problems have been effectively addressed by the amendments to the ordinance. The Privacy Commissioner has been given a "through-train" power to probe into doxxing cases and bring prosecutions to court. With the criminalization of doxxing and expansion of power of the Privacy Commissioner, basic rights of citizens are better protected. To learn more details of the current Privacy Ordinance, please watch the video.