Hong KongImplementation Rules for Article 43 of the National Security Law, Schedule 4, removing messages endangering national security and requiring assistance
Implementation Rules for Article 43 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special… Administrative Region (Instrument A303), Schedule 4
In force since .
A notice and action rule binding private bodies.
- Enforcement body
- Designated officers appointed by the Secretary for Security
- Obligation class
- Reporting
As of .
What it requires
- Take a disabling action on an electronic message when a designated officer requires it of you as platform service provider, before the deadline the officer specifies; a disabling action is removing the message, or restricting or ceasing access to it via the platform (Sch. 4, ss. 5(1), 7(3)).
- If you host stored material posted on an electronic platform, take a disabling action when the designated officer requires it because the platform service provider could not practicably be required to act or failed to comply (Sch. 4, ss. 3, 5(2), 7(4)(b)).
- If you supply an internet service or a specified network service available to end-users in Hong Kong, restrict or cease access to the message, or to the part or whole of the platform, when the designated officer requires it in the cases section 7(5)(b) describes (Sch. 4, ss. 4, 5(3), 7(5)(b), 14(4)).
- Provide the identification record, meaning the record of the identity of the person who published the message, or decryption assistance, when a police officer requires it under section 9 (Sch. 4, s. 9(3), (4)).
- Keep an address, including an email address, for receiving correspondence: a requirement or notification is issued to you once it is sent to that address, or by an electronic message if you provide none (Sch. 4, s. 15).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
A service provider that fails to comply with a requirement issued under section 7 or 9(3) commits an offence and is liable on conviction on indictment to a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for 6 months (Sch. 4, s. 12(1)).
Penalty structure
Fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for 6 months for a service provider that fails to comply with a requirement issued under section 7 or 9(3) (Sch. 4, s. 12(1)).
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- HKD
- Fixed cap
- 100,000
What this law does
The Commissioner of Police may, with the approval of the Secretary for Security, specify an electronic message if there is reasonable ground for suspecting that a person has published it on an electronic platform and that the publication is likely to constitute an offence endangering national security or likely to cause the occurrence of such an offence.
A designated officer who reasonably believes that a message is one so specified may require the platform service provider for the platform to take a disabling action on the message before the deadline the officer specifies. A disabling action by a platform service provider is removing the message from the platform, or restricting or ceasing access by any person, via the platform, to the message.
Where it is not reasonably practicable to require the platform service provider to act, or it fails to comply, the designated officer may require the hosting service provider to take a disabling action. A police officer exercising the power in section 9 may require a service provider to provide the identification record or decryption assistance, as the case requires.
A service provider that fails to comply with a requirement issued under section 7 or 9(3) commits an offence and is liable on conviction on indictment to a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for 6 months.
For a failure to comply with a requirement under section 7, it is a defence to show a specified excuse, which exists where the technology necessary for complying was not reasonably available or where there was a risk of incurring substantial loss to, or otherwise substantially prejudicing the right of, a third party.
A person who fails to comply with a requirement to remove a message the person published commits an offence liable on conviction on indictment to a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for 1 year. A service provider that complies with a requirement issued under section 7 does not incur civil liability by reason only of that compliance. The power to require a platform service provider to act is exercisable whether or not the intermediary service is provided within or outside Hong Kong.
The Implementation Rules come into operation on . The amendments made by Legal Notice 27 of 2026 commenced on .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app operates a social platform, reuses other publishers' content or provides telecom services.