A Hong Kong court has banned people from publishing a wide range of personal details about police officers and their families, including photographs, in a bid to halt “doxing” by pro-democracy protesters.
The temporary injunction, uploaded on government Web sites overnight, was yesterday criticized by some for its broad wording and for further shielding the identity of officers as they clash with protesters.
The semi-autonomous territory has been battered by nearly five months of seething pro-democracy rallies in which police and protesters have fought increasingly violent battles.
Photo: AP
The Hong Kong Police Force has said that many of its officers have had personal details leaked online — known as “doxing” — and family members harassed as a result.
Lawyers for the force on Friday asked the Hong Kong High Court for an injunction forbidding people from publishing a slew of personal information, including key details such as names, addresses, dates of birth and identity card numbers.
However, they also sought a ban on publishing details about police officers’ Facebook and Instagram accounts, their vehicle license plates and any photograph of an officer or their family without consent.
The court granted the injunction for 14 days pending a longer legal hearing.
The injunction also bans “intimidating, molesting, harassing, threatening, pestering or interfering” with any police officer or their family members.
The wording leaves no exceptions, including for the media, making it unclear how it would be applied and whether it would restrict work by reporters.
Police did not respond to requests for clarification.
Antony Dapiran, a lawyer who has written a book about the territory’s protest movement, described the ban as a “very alarming development.”
“[It is a] serious restriction on freedom of expression and effectively criminalizes a whole range of perfectly lawful acts, which will now be punishable as contempt of court,” Dapiran said on Twitter.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association said that it was “extremely concerned” about the potential limitations to media freedoms, adding that it was seeking legal advice.
University of Hong Kong media law expert Sharron Fast said that the injunction banned activity “far beyond doxing.”
“It would certainly capture the chants and name-calling that the police have long wanted to have legislative protection from,” she said.
Journalists and opposition figures had also been doxed during the protests, but the injunction did not extend extra protections to them, she added.
Hong Kong’s police have already faced criticism for hiding their identities during clashes by removing warrant card numbers from their uniforms, as well as using masks and shining bright lights at reporters.
Earlier this month, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) used a colonial-era emergency law to ban protesters from wearing masks, which has been largely flaunted by protesters.
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