Hong Kong Moves to Tackle Duplicate Image Problem Online — But Is It Keeping Pace With Singapore and London?

Hong Kong's copyright enforcement bodies and digital publishers have escalated efforts in 2026 to address a problem that has quietly undermined the city's media and e-commerce sectors for several years: the mass circulation of duplicate and illegally scraped images across platforms, websites, and social media channels operating from the Special Administrative Region.

The issue has sharpened in urgency for one concrete reason. Since late 2024, the volume of AI-generated images closely replicating original photographic work has roughly doubled the caseload handled by the Intellectual Property Department on Queensway, according to industry groups that track formal complaints. Publishers, stock-image vendors, and independent photographers in districts from Kwun Tong's creative cluster to Sheung Wan's gallery row have reported finding their work replicated — sometimes altered by generative tools, sometimes copied outright — on mainland-linked aggregator sites and locally hosted e-commerce storefronts.

Where Hong Kong Stands Against Its Rivals

Singapore moved first. The city-state's Intellectual Property Office of Singapore introduced a dedicated AI-and-copyright framework in January 2025, giving rights-holders a structured takedown pathway within 72 hours for verified duplicate image cases. London's approach has been slower legislatively but more aggressive commercially: Getty Images and several Fleet Street publishers have pursued high-profile litigation that established clearer precedent in the UK courts by mid-2025.

Hong Kong has neither the dedicated AI-copyright framework that Singapore now operates nor the litigation muscle of London's commercial publishers. The city's Copyright Ordinance, last substantively amended in 2022, does not explicitly address AI-generated reproductions of protected images. A government consultation paper on updating that ordinance was circulated to industry stakeholders in October 2025, but as of July 2026, no amending bill has been tabled in the Legislative Council.

That gap matters commercially. Hong Kong bills itself as a regional hub for fintech, professional services, and digital media. Brands and agencies operating out of Pacific Place and Cyberport regularly license image libraries for campaigns across the Greater Bay Area. When duplicate images circulate unchecked — appearing on Shenzhen-based retail platforms or being re-uploaded to local news aggregators without attribution — it erodes both the market rate for original photography and trust in the provenance of visual content used in financial promotions, which are subject to Securities and Futures Commission disclosure rules.

What Local Institutions Are Actually Doing

The Hong Kong Photographers' Association, based in Wan Chai, launched a self-help duplicate-detection programme in March 2026, using reverse-image search tools to help members file takedown requests to major platforms. The programme had processed more than 400 cases by the end of June, according to materials the association distributed at a public briefing at the Hong Kong Arts Centre on Harbour Road.

Cyberport-based startups have also entered the space. At least two companies — neither yet at the stage of public disclosure — have piloted blockchain-based image provenance tools marketed specifically to news organisations and advertising agencies looking to verify image originality before publication or campaign use. The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau confirmed in a written reply to a Legislative Council question in May 2026 that it was monitoring these developments, though it stopped short of committing to any specific regulatory timeline.

For individual photographers and small publishers, the practical options remain limited. Filing a complaint with the Intellectual Property Department on Queensway typically takes weeks. Cross-border enforcement against mainland-hosted duplicates requires coordination through mechanisms that industry lawyers describe as slow and inconsistent in outcomes.

The government's next move will likely come through the legislative calendar in the autumn 2026 session. Industry groups are pressing for an amendment to the Copyright Ordinance that would explicitly cover AI-generated reproductions and shorten the statutory takedown window. Whether that amendment includes the kind of dedicated enforcement pathway that Singapore now has will determine whether Hong Kong's creative and digital media sectors can compete effectively — or continue to absorb losses that their counterparts in other financial cities no longer accept quietly.