Police Can Force Passwords

Hong Kong amended its national‑security bylaw to let police compel suspects to hand over phone and computer passwords, punish refusal with jail and fines, and give customs sweeping seizure powers for items deemed 'seditious'. The changes were gazetted and announced by the city leader, bypassing the local legislature, and sit alongside NSL features like closed‑door trials. — This normalizes legal compulsion of personal device access as a tool of state security, raising questions about privacy, due process, and how democracies should respond to exportable surveillance precedents.