Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog takes down 90 per cent of social media posts deemed to constitute doxxing under new law

Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog has taken down about 90 per cent of social media posts it deemed constituted doxxing after legal amendments were passed last year to criminalise such behaviour.

Ada Chung Lai-ling, the privacy commissioner for personal data, on Monday said her office issued a total of 774 cessation notices between October 2021 and May this year, involving 14 social media platforms and about 3,900 messages. Six people were arrested, she added.

“No social platform should be used by rogue elements to post doxxing messages,” she said. “The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data has the right to request the relevant platform to remove the messages, and even restrict or prevent individuals from browsing related channels or even the entire platform.”

Some channels were shut down altogether, which Chung said was a “desirable phenomenon” that showed a correct approach to handling doxxing. But she added she was “not in the position” to disclose details of individual law enforcement actions.

Chung also refused to confirm how many cessation notices were directed at the instant messaging app Telegram, which authorities and pro-Beijing lawmakers have accused of being a hotbed for netizens to leak personal information of police officers, government officials and pro-establishment figures.

Use of the texting app gained traction during the anti-government protests in 2019, where demonstrators created channels to disseminate information to others.

Telegram is famous for its “secret chat” function that enables messages to self-destruct across all devices by setting up a timer.

When asked why some doxxing platforms targeting journalists and opposition figures could persist, Chung noted that her office would handle all the complaints “diligently and fairly, irrespective of the political views or the background of the victims involved”.