Jul 06, 2020 12:45:00

A law will be enforced that will allow the Chinese government to delete Hong Kong social media posts and accounts

The

Hong Kong National Security Act , which came into force on June 30, 2020, has allowed the Chinese government to request that social media such as Facebook and Twitter in Hong Kong be removed from problematic posts and user accounts. Has been revealed.

National security law: Hong Kong internet firms'will have to comply' with police requests | South China Morning Post
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3091618/national-security-law-hong-kong-internet-firms-will

Western social media platforms brace for China's new 'security' law to increase Hong Kong censorship
https://reclaimthenet.org/facebook-twitter-chinas-new-security-law-to-cause-hong-kong-censorship/

China has long had a 'great firewall' that blocks information and websites that are not desirable to China.

Mechanism of Chinese online censorship system ``Great Firewall''-GIGAZINE

By yoshiffles

The National Security Act of Hong Kong allows Chinese police to request, at the police's discretion, to delete posts or accounts that send out unwanted information.

'At the police's request, companies will have to comply with the new law,' said Rent Yip Yukfei, chairman of the Hong Kong Internet Service Providers Association. ``Previously, police required a court order to ask providers for information, but for a long time police contacted our members directly, without court order. Many companies are requesting information and do not know that the police need to be ordered by the court first, and there are many companies that cooperate with the police. Now that we can ask the provider for help, we can't refuse to provide it.'

Among the social media, Facebook and Twitter have been popular as a way for Hong Kong people to generate international attention. 'International social media giants such as Facebook could be in a tough position in Hong Kong,' said Francis Von, Honorary Chairman of the Information Technology Federation. Although some social media companies have offices in Hong Kong, many of their headquarters and servers are outside Hong Kong, so if police ask the platform to delete or investigate certain posts, it will not make a decision. It will be the overseas headquarters. 'We need to see how large social media companies will respond to requests from the Chinese police in the future,' said Fung.

A Facebook spokesman said, 'We will review the details of the National Security Act in Hong Kong to understand the implications for Facebook and the people who use our services. We believe it is a fundamental human right, and we share concerns about the impact of this law on freedom of expression in Hong Kong.' The news site RECLAIM also reported that many Facebook users voluntarily closed their accounts because of fear of the government.

'The new national security law gives police 'free power' to require publishers and Internet service providers to remove information and provide assistance,' said Simon Yang Guyman, an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong. There is no standard for what information will be deleted.'