Fight Against Doxing In Hong Kong

In the wake of rampant doxing that has occurred in recent years, the Hong Kong government has made key revisions to its data privacy regime to criminalise the unauthorised disclosure of personal data and enhance the privacy watchdog's investigation and enforcement powers. The amended provisions of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (“PDPO”) targeting doxing activities came into effect on 8 October 2021.

The three main aspects of the amendments made are as follows:

1. Criminalisation of doxing behaviour

To curb doxing activities, the offence under the previous section 64(2) of the PDPO will be replaced by two offences.

The first-tier offence is against disclosure of personal information without the victim's (“data subject”) consent, where the disclosing party intends or is reckless as to causing any specific harm by that disclosure. If the disclosure results in specified harm, the disclosing party will be liable for a second-tier offence, which is a more