Thousands of Hong Kongers sang protest songs and chanted slogans across the city on June 12, 2020, to mark the first anniversary of major clashes between police and pro-democracy demonstrators.
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alphabetical YouTube said on Tuesday it would comply with a court ruling and block access within Hong Kong to 32 links to videos deemed to be banned content, a move critics said was a blow to freedoms in the financial hub amid a security crackdown.
The action was taken following an application by the government Approved by Hong Kong Court of Appeal Call for a ban on the protest song titled “Glory to Hong Kong”. The judge warned that the song could be used against the state by dissidents seeking to foment division.
YouTube said in comments criticizing the court order that the ruling would raise doubts about the Hong Kong government’s efforts to promote the digital economy and restore its reputation as a predictable place to do business.
“We are disappointed with the court’s ruling but are complying with its removal order,” YouTube said in a statement. YouTube said it shared human rights groups’ concerns that content bans could stifle free speech online. “We will continue to consider appeal options to facilitate access to information.”
Some observers, including the U.S. government, said the ban would further damage Hong Kong’s international reputation as a financial center and raise concerns about the erosion of freedoms and its commitment to the free flow of information.
“From a free internet and free speech perspective, this is not an ideal situation,” said George Chen, co-chairman of the Asia Group’s digital practice at the Washington, D.C.-based business policy consulting firm. He also served as director of public policy for Meta Greater China.
“The question now is how far and how far the government wants to go,” Chen added. “If you start sending 100 or 1,000 deletion links to the platform every day, it will make the platform go crazy, and it will also make global investors more worried about Hong Kong’s free market environment. The predictability and stability of the policy environment are very important to foreign investors. is very important, and Hong Kong is now at a crossroads in defending its reputation.
Industry groups such as the Asia Internet Alliance, which represents major technology companies such as Meta, Apple and Google, said that maintaining a free and open Internet in Hong Kong is “fundamental” to maintaining Hong Kong’s advantages.
The Hong Kong government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The action is not the first globally for the U.S. tech industry or Google parent company Alphabet, which has restricted items where required by law.In China, there are Deleted content.
A spokesman for YouTube, part of Mountain View, Calif.-based Alphabet, said the video geo-blocking would take effect immediately for Hong Kong viewers.
YouTube said links to these videos will eventually no longer appear on Google searches in Hong Kong as the company’s systems process the changes. When trying to watch this song on YouTube from Hong Kong, the following message appears: “Due to a court order, this content is not available on domain names in this country.”
Hong Kong does not have an official national anthem. “Glory to Hong Kong” was composed during widespread pro-democracy protests in 2019 and became China’s unofficial alternative national anthem to “March of the Volunteers.”
Hong Kong officials have been sanctioned by the U.S. government in recent years over a sweeping national security crackdown on dissent that has led to the imprisonment of many opposition democrats and the shutdown of liberal media and civil society groups.
The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, with China guaranteeing that its freedoms would be preserved under a “one country, two systems” framework.
A spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said blocking the spread of the song was necessary to safeguard national security in Hong Kong.
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