Hong Kong privacy watchdog launches criminal probe into AI-generated porn scandal at HKU
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) 'has launched a criminal investigation into the incident and has no further comment at this stage,' the watchdog said in a statement on Tuesday.
The statement was released days after a male law student at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) was accused of creating pornographic images of around 20 to 30 women, including his classmates and teachers, without their consent.
The student allegedly used photos he found on the women's social media accounts to generate pornographic 'deepfake' images using free online artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
Citing the city's privacy laws, the Tuesday statement said that it is illegal to disclose a person's personal data without their consent, causing harm to the subject or their family members.
A disclosure of personal data without consent, with an intent to cause 'specified harm,' or if the offender was reckless as to whether any harm would, or would likely be caused, also constitutes an offence.
The announcement was also made just hours after Chief Executive John Lee said that most local laws applied to online behaviours, including offences under the Crimes Ordinance and the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.
The chief executive did not mention any proposal for legislation regarding AI but urged Hong Kong universities to handle student misconduct 'seriously.'
'While some misconduct may be dealt with under internal university rules, any act that may contravene the law should be reported to law enforcement agencies for action,' he said.
HKU said in a statement on Saturday that the university had issued a warning letter to the student and demanded that he formally apologise to the women.
The incident was not handled by the university's Disciplinary Committee, after HKU told three anonymous victims that the male student likely did not commit an offence that could be addressed by the committee.
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