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A Hong Kong man has been arrested for allegedly disclosing his boss’ personal data and debt details on the internet without his consent, according to the city’s privacy watchdog. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data revealed on Friday that the 54-year-old suspect, a former employee at the victim’s company, was responsible for managing its social media accounts between November 2023 and May 2024. The man was an “administrator of a number of chat groups created by the company and its related companies on an instant messaging application to promote their businesses,” the watchdog said, adding that the doxxing case had come to light in early March. A series of pictures, including two of a loan agreement showing the victim as the borrower, and five of court documents showing the victim and his companies as defendants of civil claims, were posted on two of the chat groups. A video clip of the victim reading the loan agreement, in which his face is visible, was also posted. The personal data disclosed included the victim’s Chinese name, Hong Kong ID card number, local and mainland Chinese mobile phone numbers, mainland bank account number, and the names of his company and its affiliates. In a statement on Friday, the privacy watchdog said the man had been granted bail and “[the office] will continue its investigation into the case”. It did not release further details, including the nature of the business of the victim’s companies, or what had prompted the doxxing. The watchdog warned the public against doxxing, saying “it is not a means to resolve disputes as it would only escalate conflict”. In Hong Kong, doxxing is a serious offence. Under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, an offender can face a fine of up to HK$1 million (US$128,572) and five years’ imprisonment upon conviction. The anti-doxxing law took effect in October 2021. In its report to the Legislative Council earlier this year, the watchdog said the doxxing problem had “demonstrably” come under control. Last year, it handled 442 doxxing cases, a 42 per cent decline from the 756 recorded in 2023. There were 1,764 cases in 2022. Of the 442 cases last year, 355 were doxxing complaints received by the watchdog. Some 46 per cent involved monetary disputes and 25 per cent were family or relationship disputes.
