People suspected of involvement in national security cases may be required to surrender their device passwords to law enforcement officials, under new rules published in the Hong Kong government Gazette.
Under the regulations, a person “reasonably suspected” of having committed a national security offence, or a person who owns, controls or has access to a device that may contain evidence of such an offence, is required to grant access to investigating officers.
Many other jurisdictions have laws compelling the surrender of passwords in the event of suspected wrongdoing, including Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, France, some US states, Singapore and the UK.
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While Hong Kong’s new rules do not single out travellers, several international media articles have implied that foreign visitors – or even transit passengers – may be subject to draconian and arbitrary device searches.
A Hong Kong government spokesperson said the rules “will not affect the lives of the general public and the normal operation of institutions and organisations.”
A person who refuses to comply with a request to surrender a password in a national security case in Hong Kong could be liable to up to a year in prison – less than the UK or Australia, where two years in jail is the punishment for a similar refusal. In Ireland, the punishment is up to five years in prison.
