By Jerome A. Cohen
Day after day the legal outrages pile up as Beijing tightens the noose on Hong Kong. Ten more freely elected, pro-democracy district councilors have just been disqualified from office. The local government simply ruled, without any explanation whatever, that their oaths of office were invalid!
At the same time, the prosecutions of six former staff members of Apple Daily and Next have been transferred by the government from the HK Magistrates Court to the HK High Court, thereby making them eligible for potential life sentences if, as likely, they will be convicted of violating the National Security Law for HK.
Most surprising and shocking is HK’s new anti-doxxing law amendment. It makes disclosure of personal data without consent, with an intent to cause psychological harm, a crime punishable by a fine up to HK $ 1 million and five years in prison. It also expands the punishment process beyond the existing HK legal system by empowering an administrative official new to criminal justice – the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data—to initiate and undertake criminal investigation of possible violations. The amendment only vaguely defines the offense, and the Commissioner does not have to go through the better-regulated police. The department is empowered to bypass the Department of Justice by itself making the decision to initiate prosecutions.
The new law also authorizes the Commissioner to access electronic devices without a warrant in “urgent circumstances” (as defined by the Commissioner). Moreover, the new law purports to have extraterritorial effect, authorizing the Commissioner to notify internet service companies anywhere in the world to take down material the Commissioner deems to be doxxing! This report summarizes this development and the earlier warning issued by tech companies against adoption of this amendment because of its curbing of free expression. It will be important to see how Google, Facebook, Twitter, and others react now and whether the Commissioner will move to suppress doxxing by pro-Beijing forces as well as pro-democracy elements.