Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog has received a complaint over a viral dashcam video of a heated dispute in a ride-hailing vehicle involving a passenger identified as singer David Lui Fong, warning that the case could be referred to police.
Assistant Privacy Commissioner Fiona Lai Ho-yan said on a radio programme on Monday that passengers had a higher expectation of privacy inside for-hire vehicles, which are considered semi-private spaces.
“The driver involved, by uploading an identifiable video to social media without the passenger’s consent, has already violated data protection principles,” Lai said.
The footage showed a dispute over an apparent GPS error that quickly escalated into a profanity-laced shouting match.
It drew widespread attention on social media platform Threads last Friday. The driver identified the passenger as Lui in the video, which also clearly showed his face.
The watchdog subsequently ordered the removal of the clip, noting that any video that clearly identified an individual constituted “personal data” under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. The clip had been removed as of Saturday.
Lai said the office had received one complaint related to the incident, adding that it would not exclude the possibility of referring the case to law enforcement agencies.