A 27-year-old male customer service assistant involved impersonating his ex-girlfriend on social platforms in October last year, disclosing his personal information and making strangers contact his ex-girlfriend with the intention of making friends. The man was charged by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data with seven counts of “disclosure of personal data without the consent of the data subject”. The Shatin Magistrates’ Court convicted the defendant yesterday, making it the first conviction of a “prime” criminalization.
The facts of the case allege that between October 19 and 26, 2021, the defendant, He Muhua, opened an account by pretending to be the victim on four social media platforms, and disclosed the personal information of his ex-girlfriend with whom he had a brief relationship, including name, photo, address, personal and office phone numbers. Number, company name and occupation, etc., and said that others are welcome to come to meet the victim, so that the victim receives a lot of contact from strangers. However, the disclosure was made without the consent of the victim and was intended to cause harm to her or her family, or to be reckless as to whether it would cause harm to her or her family.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner arrested the defendant in June this year, and in August charged him with seven offences of “disclosure of personal data without consent” under the Privacy Ordinance. The defendant was convicted yesterday following pleading guilty to all seven counts, becoming the first conviction since the criminalization of the “bottom” took effect in October last year. The magistrate adjourned the case to December 15 for sentencing pending a report, and the accused was released on bail.
Under the law, it is an offence for a discloser to disclose his personal data without the relevant consent of the data subject with intent or recklessness to cause the subject or any of his family members to suffer any specified harm. If convicted by summary trial, the maximum penalty is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for 2 years; if convicted through indictment, the penalty is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for 5 years.
Originally published on AM730 https://www.am730.com.hk/local/man admits to disclosing ex-girlfriend information online-cheng-begin-the first case of criminalization/341852?utm_source=yahoorss&utm_medium=referral
