A software developer accused of blackmail has been cleared of threatening to disclose the personal information of more than a million Australians.
Quynh Khac Nguyen, 48, was arrested after police were alerted to a website that had published the personal details of patrons who had signed in with their driver’s licences at certain NSW venues in May 2023.
Registered clubs are required by law to document and store the personal details of patrons entering their venues in NSW.
But the Fairfield West man argued he had actually been trying to prevent a devastating release of personal information collected by tech company Outabox, which provided services to ClubsNSW and others.
Mr Nguyen worked as a contractor for Outabox for years before his employment was terminated, Fairfield Local Court was told on Thursday.
Prosecutors accused him of pursuing revenge by creating a website called HaveIBeenOutaboxed.com and threatening to share confidential data.
The website, which sparked calls for better data handling and regulations, published the details of people who used their driver's licence to sign into 17 venues in NSW and the ACT.
During a five-day hearing, Mr Nguyen testified he had become aware that disgruntled developers in the Philippines had accessed confidential information collected by Outabox and planned to misuse it.
He told the court he had intervened in an attempt to pull the developers back from major unfettered data releases and denied that he had threatened anyone.
He persuaded Judge Michael Ong, who found him not guilty of demanding with menaces with the intention of causing a loss and dealing with identity information to commit an indictable offence.
The judge determined Mr Nguyen had been aware of the use of the identity information but hadn’t intended to use it to commit an offence.
Outside court, Mr Nguyen's solicitor Jamie Clements said it had been a long journey but they were very pleased with the outcome.
“It was sold to the Australian public as an example of Mr Nyguen being part of a blackmail and threatening to release ... people’s details,” he said.
"That was never what this was about.
"This was about a large American corporation refusing to pay its developers in the Philippines and then Mr Nguyen simply trying to avert any blackmail actually happening or any release of data."
Mr Clements agreed his client felt vindicated after sticking to his guns for more than three years.
Outabox has been contacted for comment.
