Overview
- Hong Kong updated National Security Law rules, which took effect Monday, to require passwords or decryption help for phones and laptops from residents, visitors, and even transit passengers.
- Refusing to provide access can bring up to one year in jail and a HK$100,000 fine, while giving false information can draw up to three years and HK$500,000.
- Police can take and keep phones and laptops they say relate to national security cases, raising privacy risks for people carrying sensitive work or financial data.
- Hong Kong’s Security Bureau says officers must get a court warrant before any device search, while foreign outlets and rights advocates report police can demand access without judicial oversight.
- The U.S. Consulate issued a March 26 alert telling Americans the rule applies to everyone in Hong Kong, including those only transiting the airport.