HK 'needs to step up act on AI laws on porn and scams'

Lawmakers have called on the government to tighten artificial intelligence regulations after the city ranked just 50th out of 70 economies for AI governance in a new global index. In terms of competitiveness, the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development's first-ever World Digital and AI Ranking report also ranked the SAR as 11th overall and fourth in Asia, behind Singapore and the Chinese mainland with the United States topping the list. Speaking on a radio show on Saturday, lawmaker Johnny Ng said while the city had performed well in talent and infrastructure, it lagged behind on governance. "It's not that we don't have laws. We have guidelines," he said. "But when it comes to certain areas, for example, how we protect young people from pornography or scams, we need to do a little more." Speaking on the same show, fellow lawmaker Simon Lee said current regulations were not enough. He said the city should consider rolling out AI legislation in phases, with priority placed on monitoring of deepfakes and high-risk AI systems. In his September 2026 Policy Address, Chief Executive John Lee said the city was looking at instituting legislation to regulate deepfakes and combat AI-enabled crime. Edited by Azam Khan