Social-Media
In Hong Kong : Facebook, Twitter and Google to do Face Free-Speech Test
(WSJ) U.S. technology titans face the looming test of their free speech in Hong Kong as China's new national security law requires local authorities to take action to monitor and regulate their uncensored internet.
Facebook Inc. and its Instagram app, Twitter Inc. and YouTube, a subsidiary of Google's Alphabet Inc., operate openly in the city even though they have been shut down or opted out of the tightly regulated Web on the mainland, which uses the "Great Firewall" to filter knowledge.
In Hong Kong, many people have become accustomed to using their accounts freely to speak out on political issues, to voice support for anti-government protests, and to register their anger at China's growing influence over the city.
Now U.S. tech companies face a high-wire act, analysts say, if the authorities here ask them to delete user accounts or their contents. Refusal could call for Beijing's scrutiny and potentially put them at risk of legal action under the new national security law. Complying would alienate long-standing users in the city, some of whom continue to speak on their platforms, and leave companies open to criticism from U.S. or U.K. politicians.
Tech companies will definitely receive more requests from the relevant authorities to remove information that is allegedly harmful to national security, said Haochen Sun, law professor at the University of Hong Kong. He said that companies will face difficulties , especially in borderline cases, such as potential requests to remove songs that protesters have used in anti-government demonstrations.
Among the provisions of the law, which came into force on Tuesday, is the mandate for the Hong Kong authorities to strengthen supervision and regulation over the Internet. In China, that language in Beijing usually means a restriction of political speech.
Sandra MARCO Colino, a law professor in Hong Kong Chinese University, said that Facebook and Twitter might witness their popularity in Hong Kong shrinking dramatically." Demonstrators have widely used the platforms to voice their views and even to coordinate certain activities. But hard sanctions are almost certainly going to discourage the public sharing of these points of view.
It seems that the law on national security has already sparked a wave of autocensoring with the fears that the new rules will penalize. Days prior to law, a number of social media users have deleted their accounts or wiped them from contents relating to protest.
The company reviews the legislation in detail by a Facebook spokesperson. "We believe freedom of expression to be a fundamental human right and share concerns regarding the impact of this law on Hong Kong's free expression," she added.
Facebook and Twitter did not agree if the new law authorities had instructed them to do so. A spokesperson from Google refused to comment.
Google and Apple Inc. pulled apps related to Hong Kong's anti-government protests out of their digital stores last year.
After the Communist Party-run People's Daily newspaper called the app "toxic software." Apple said it pulled out the application because it endangered law enforcements and residents. Apple revoked a crowdfunded map service that allowed demonstrators to monitor police activity.
Google took a mobile game to enable users to play a role as protestors in Hong Kong, claiming that Google violated a policy that prohibits developers from "making money from severe conflicts or tragedies through a game by capitalizing on sensitive events"
U.S. technology companies have previously been criticized in mainland China for meeting Beijing 's requests. Yahoo had a convention hearing in 2007, following the information given by the company to local authorities about Chinese journalist Shi Tao, who later arrested him. LinkedIn has also raised anger about its censorship of politically sensitive posts on the continent of China.
Hong Kong has 7.5 million inhabitants and a source of lower digital publicity than more populous countries, but its citizens are richer and digitally more knowledgeable than in many places.
According to consulting firm We Are Social, 91% of Hong Kong 's population uses the internet and 98% of Internet users aged 16 and 64 are using social media or messaging applications.
According to a company report, in the last six months of 2019, Facebook received 241 public requests for user data in Hong Kong. During the first six months of the year last, Twitter received three requests for user information, one of the world's lowest latest company data.
Google has a relatively small presence in China because services like search, Gmail and YouTube are blocked. Also in China are Twitter and Facebook blocked.
However, Apple's market is critical, which accounts for a significant part of its income. U.S. tech companies usually say they have to comply with local laws in their operating countries.
While analysts believe that social media platforms can be forced to remove content by authorities, analysts are not expecting a general Internet shutdown due to the new law.
In the previous past, Hong-Kong has not seen large scale internet outs. Alp Toker, the director of NetBlocks, a London-based organization which tracks online censorship. In recent days, since law came into effect, his group has not detected any shutdowns.
Finally, the analysts say, if they want their services to be available in the city, U.S. companies are probably forcibly forced to follow the new Hong Kong rules.
They will need to comply with Hong Kong law, national security law included, as long as the tech companies operate in Hong Kong, Mr. Sun of Hong Kong University said.
Source: Wall Street Journal by Newley Purnell and Eva Xiao
