Hong Kong authorities agree to lower threshold for prosecution under new anti-doxxing law after lawmakers voice concerns
- New threshold will not require prosecutors to prove victim was psychologically harmed, only that suspect intended to threaten or harass
- Government also specifies which tech company employees can be legally compelled to remove offending information
Hong Kong authorities have agreed to lower the threshold for defining the crime of doxxing, removing a requirement that prosecutors prove victims suffered psychological harm.
With the lowering of the threshold, revealed on Wednesday, the mere act of deliberately leaking an individual’s personal information with the intent to threaten or harass them or their family will be punishable by two years behind bars and a maximum fine of HK$100,000 (US$12,877).
The tweaks to the proposed amendments to the city’s privacy law were made after pro-establishment lawmakers said it would be too difficult to require that victims prove actual psychological harm for a criminal to face justice. In cases where such harm was proved, however, the maximum penalty would rise to five years in jail and a fine of HK$1 million.
Under the latest changes, the government also specified that only the managers of internet service providers, or executives with the capability to remove online materials, could be ordered by the privacy commissioner to take down doxxing information.
A previous proposal had suggested that any staff member of a relevant tech company could face legal consequences for failing to comply with such an order, sparking an outcry from the Singapore-based Asia Internet Coalition, an alliance that includes such American tech giants as Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Twitter and LinkedIn.