Facebook, Twitter, and Google Threatened to Leave Hong Kong Due to Data Protection Amendments
Facebook, Twitter, and Google were reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing a letter from the Asian Internet Coalition from Singapore – which includes these American companies – to the Hong Kong authorities. IT giants declined to comment on the letter’s contents but confirmed that the coalition had sent such a letter.
The amendments to the data protection law were proposed in May by the Hong Kong Bureau of Constitutional and Mainland Affairs. The document provides a fine for doxing up to 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($ 129,800) and up to five years in prison.
In its letter to the Hong Kong authorities, the coalition stressed that the only way for tech companies to avoid these sanctions would be to stop investing in Hong Kong and shut down operations in the region.
Coalition chief Jeff Payne indicated that the organization and its members oppose doxing but added that the bill is full of vague language. According to him, after the amendments come into force against companies and their employees, they may begin to initiate criminal cases for crimes related to doxing, which users of Internet resources commit.
The letter noted that the proposed draft law is a wholly disproportionate and unnecessary response in the fight against doxing. According to coalition members, the amendments could restrict freedom of speech and criminalize even “innocent acts of information exchange on the Internet.” The organization asked the Hong Kong authorities to define the boundaries of doxing violations and requested a videoconference to discuss the situation.
Doxing spread in Hong Kong in 2019 during anti-government protests. The personal data of both police officers and protesters to the Web. The press office of the Hong Kong ombudsman for personal data privacy said local authorities have dealt with thousands of doxing cases since 2019, and opinion polls have indicated the need for additional measures to combat these crimes. They added that the boundaries of offenses would result in the bill and will not be violated freedom of speech in any way.
