Hurtful Digital Communications in Hong Kong: Stakeholder Accounts – International Journal of Law, Ethics, and Technology

-                                        Title
+                                        Hurtful Digital Communications in Hong Kong: Stakeholder Accounts
-                                        Author
+                                        Stuart Hargreaves
-                                        Affiliation
+                                        The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Law
-                                        Region/Country
+                                        Hong Kong
-                                        Pages
+-145
-                                        Download
-                                        Permalink
+                                        https://www.ijlet.org/4.3.5
-                                        DOI
-                                        Keywords
+                                        Law; Technology; Cyberbullying; NCDII; Communications; Hong Kong;
Privacy; Tort; Regulation
-                                        Abstract
+                                        Hurtful digital communications (HDC) is an umbrella term referring to a
wide variety of text and image-based practices online, such as cyberbullying or the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images (NCDII). They can cause significant harm
to victims and, as elsewhere, these practices are on the rise in Hong Kong. This paper
represents the first stage of a project aimed at developing a coherent, broad-spectrum
response to that rise. It discusses nine interviews with stakeholder groups or
representatives in Hong Kong, revealing commonalities and themes in their experiences
with clients who have been victims of HDC. While Hong Kong has recently adopted
piecemeal reform of criminal laws targeting certain HDC practices such as ‘up-skirting’,
NCDII, and doxing, these interviews suggest that these reforms alone are unlikely prove
effective. Amongst other things, the interviews reveal a desire by victims not simply
for punishment but resolution and restitution. Other jurisdictions have responded to
these desires through the adoption both of expanded civil actions and broader regulatory
regimes. This paper sets the groundwork for justifying similar reforms in Hong Kong