Police Win Injunction On Electoral Register Checks

A policing union has been granted a fresh injunction to prevent members of the public from inspecting the electoral register, despite losing a court challenge to block the sharing of information on voters.

The Court of First Instance last week rejected a challenge from the Junior Police Officers' Association to bar election authorities from publicly disclosing voters' details amid fears they could be used for the unlawful release of personal information, a practice known as "doxxing".

However the police union launched an appeal on Tuesday and was granted a fresh injunction by the Court of Appeal. The Registration and Electoral Office said it therefore had no choice but to put on hold arrangements for the inspection of the register.

The lower court's judgement acknowledged that although doxxing campaigns are "appalling, reprehensible and hideous", there was no evidence that people were specifically using the electoral register to target police officers.

The court also said that only "minimal personal information concerning an elector" is contained in a voter register which is open for inspection by the public and election candidates.

The Hong Kong Journalist Association, which was granted permission to intervene in the case, says a hearing will be held on May 5.