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PCPD Conducts a Joint Operation with the Police in a Doxxing-Related Case

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) conducted a joint operation with the Police in a doxxing-related case on 11 May. During the operation, a 23-year-old Hong Kong male was arrested for, among others, suspected contravention of section 64(3C) of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) relating to the offence of “disclosing personal data without consent, causing specified harm to the data subject or his/her family member”.
 
In March this year, the Police discovered that the personal data of some police officers, over 70 Legislative Council Members and their family members were disclosed on an online social media platform. The personal data included their names, dates of birth, identity card numbers, telephone numbers, residential addresses and office addresses, etc. Seditious messages were also found to have been published on the same social media platform, inciting the assault of Returning Officers, in July 2020 before the Legislative Council Election.
 
Police’s Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau identified a 23-year-old Hong Kong male and arrested him at Sham Shui Po in a joint operation with the PCPD this afternoon. He is suspected of contravening the offence of “disclosing personal data without consent, causing specified harm to the data subject or his/her family member” under section 64(3C) of the PDPO as well as the offence of “conspiracy to incite others to do grievous bodily harm” under common law and the Offences against the Person Ordinance. The Police seized one telephone in the operation. The arrested person is currently under custody. The operation is still undergoing and there may be more arrests.
 
The PDPO was amended last year to more effectively combat doxxing acts that are intrusive to personal data privacy. The amended Ordinance came into operation on 8 October 2021 and it empowered the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (Privacy Commissioner) to carry out criminal investigations and institute prosecutions. It also conferred on the Privacy Commissioner statutory powers to issue cessation notices.
 
The PCPD reminds members of the public that doxxing is a serious crime. Don’t break the law.