Date: 28 December 2020
First Immediate Imprisonment Case
for Breaching Injunction Order Restraining Doxxing
Privacy Commissioner Reiterates the Serious Consequences of Doxxing
and Urges the Public Not to Flout the Law
In a case which involved the posting of the personal data of a police officer and his family members on a social media platform in violation of an interim injunction order granted by the High Court, the defendant was convicted of civil contempt of court today (28 December) and sentenced to 21 days’ immediate imprisonment. The judge pointed out that the doxxing act had a long-lasting impact on the victims and should not be tolerated. A suspended sentence could not properly reflect the gravity of the criminal liability. The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong (Privacy Commissioner), Ms Ada CHUNG Lai-ling, welcomed the judgment.
The Privacy Commissioner stressed, “Doxxing is a misdeed that should not be tolerated in a civilised society. The cyber world is not above the law. The three interim injunction orders relating to doxxing granted by the High Court are still in force at present. Contempt of court is a serious matter. Anyone who breaches the relevant injunction orders, once convicted, may be subject to an immediate custodial sentence. Members of the public are urged not to flout the law.”
As of mid-December this year, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data has referred 57 doxxing cases which involved suspected violations of injunction orders to the Department of Justice for follow-up. This is the third conviction for breaching the relevant injunction order since the court issued the injunction orders, and the first case in which the defendant was sentenced to immediate imprisonment for breaching injunction order.
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