Hong Kong press group criticises new curbs on media access to vehicle registry, gov’t says accusation ‘false’
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s leading press group has expressed concern about new government restrictions on media access to vehicle ownership records, saying they will hamper reporting and could compromise sources.
The Transport Department said in response that the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) had made a “false accusation” against the department and a “false interpretation” of a ruling on the issue by the Court of Final Appeal.
Authorities rolled out the new arrangements in early January following a landmark case concerning a reporter’s use of the public database to review records of vehicles involved in the Yuen Long mob attack at the height of the 2019 protests and unrest.
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The top court ruled last June that the reporter Bao Choy was not guilty of making a false statement in her application to access the vehicle registry, which was made for the purpose of “genuine investigative journalism.”
A day after the top court’s ruling, authorities said they would review the verdict and “improve” procedures for vehicle registry access.
New arrangements that came into effect on January 8 require all journalists to submit a written application directly to the transport commissioner to access the vehicle registry.
The transport commissioner will decide whether there is a public interest in disclosing the vehicle information and whether this outweighs the right to privacy.
“Under any circumstances, if the Commissioner reasonably believes that approving a particular application would be contrary to the interests of national security, or is likely to threaten public safety or prejudice the maintenance of public order, the application shall be rejected,” guidelines provided by the Transport Department read.
The HKJA said the new procedure disregarded the top court’s ruling by giving the transport commissioner a new power to decide what is in the public interest.
The group sent a statement in Chinese to the Transport Department on Tuesday spelling out its concerns over the new arrangements.
“The group believes that the new arrangement for journalists to provide justifications and even interview plans when applying to access vehicle registration records, subject to approval by the transport commissioner, constitutes an ‘illegitimate’ exercise of the official’s authority,” the statement reads. “It unnecessarily adds additional hurdles to the process of accessing the vehicle registry and disregards the time sensitivity of news reporting, potentially compromising the principle of confidentiality in journalism.”
In response, the Transport Department said in a statement late on Wednesday the new arrangements were in line with the top court’s ruling.
“Freedom of the press is not an absolute right and freedom, ” it said, adding that “the transport commissioner has the authority and the responsibility to prevent the misuse of vehicle registration details.”
New restrictions
Apart from applications made by journalists, the new arrangements also stipulate that only vehicle owners or individuals who have obtained the consent of the owner are allowed to access the vehicle registry.
Information obtained by the public can only serve seven purposes such as the sale and purchase of a vehicle, insurance claims, legal proceedings or the rectification of the improper presence of the vehicle.
Former arrangements for access to the vehicle registry were simpler. Applicants had to provide name, phone number, address and choose one of three reasons for access – legal proceedings, sale and purchase, and other traffic and transport-related matters.
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