Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ ↗
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LEGAL

The Claim

The Hong Kong national security law makes it a criminal offense to refuse to provide passwords to authorities.

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

Hong Kong's national security framework, as amended through 2024–2026 implementation rules, does criminalize refusing to provide passwords or decryption assistance to police. However, the claim omits important conditions: the offense applies only when police lawfully demand passwords during a national security investigation, and only when the person has no "reasonable excuse." It is not a blanket obligation to surrender passwords in all circumstances. The core claim is accurate but its unqualified phrasing overstates the scope of the law.

Caveats

  • The offense is conditional: it applies only when police issue a lawful requirement during a national security investigation and the person lacks a 'reasonable excuse' for non-compliance.
  • The password-disclosure offense was introduced through 2024–2026 amendments and implementation rules, not the original 2020 National Security Law text.
  • The law targets devices or data reasonably believed to contain evidence of national security offenses — it is not a general obligation to disclose passwords on demand in all situations.

The Receipts

  1. National Security (Implementation Rules) (Amendment) Rules 2025

    Hong Kong Government Gazette

  2. National Security (Amendment) Ordinance 2024

    Hong Kong Government Gazette

  3. Security Alert: Refusal to Give the Government Passwords to Personal Mobile Device Criminalized in Hong Kong

    U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong & Macau

  4. National Security (Amendment) Ordinance 2024

    Hong Kong Legal Information Institute

  5. Hong Kong Travel Advisory: New National Security Law Amendments

    U.S. Department of State

  6. Implementation Rules of Article 4 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Amendment) 2026

    Hong Kong Government Gazette

  7. Hong Kong National Security Law Amendments Alert

    U.S. Department of State

  8. Hong Kong police can demand phone and computer passwords under amended national security law - The Guardian

    The Guardian

  9. Hong Kong makes it illegal to deny device passwords in national security probes

    South China Morning Post

  10. New Hong Kong rules force people to give up passwords in security cases

    Channel News Asia

+ 12 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

Hong KongHong Kong national security law

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