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TikTok pulls out of Hong Kong as police get sweeping new powers
Apple under pressure to act after TikTok pulls out of Hong Kong
(about 3 hours later)
Social media companies pull back as full extent of national security legislation imposed by China becomes clear
Social media firms react to sweeping new national security legislation imposed by China
TikTok is to pull its app from Hong Kong app stores and Zoom will stop complying with city authorities’ data requests as social media companies react to the sweeping new national security laws imposed on the city by Beijing.
TikTok is to withdraw from Hong Kong app stores and Zoom will stop complying with city authorities’ data requests as technology companies react to the sweeping new national security laws imposed on the city by Beijing.
TikTok, which is owned by China-based ByteDance, has consistently denied sharing any user data with authorities in China, and was adamant it did not intend to begin to agree to such requests. The company expected to take several days to wind-down app operations in Hong Kong.
Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, Google and Telegram have already said they are “pausing” cooperation with requests for user information, putting pressure on Apple, which says it is “assessing” the new law, to do the same.
The decision, which a spokesperson said was made “in light of recent events”, came after the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said the US was “certainly looking at” banning Chinese social media apps including TikTok. Microsoft, Google, Whatsapp, Facebook, and Telegram have all said they had paused cooperation with data requests from Hong Kong authorities pending human rights reviews, putting pressure on Apple to do likewise.
TikTok, a video-sharing social-networking platform owned by the China-based ByteDance, has consistently denied sharing any user data with authorities in China, and was adamant it did not intend to begin to agree to such requests. The company expected to take several days to wind down its app operations in Hong Kong.
Just hours after Tik Tok’s announcement, the video conferencing platform Zoom told Hong Kong Free Press it would also stop complying with data requests from Hong Kong authorities.
Despite its ownership, TikTok has never been available in China. Instead, Bytedance operates a more heavily censored version of the platform under the name Douyin. A TikTok spokesperson said the company had no plans to launch Douyin in Hong Kong.
A spokesman for Zoom said the company “supports the free and open exchange of thoughts and ideas”.
TikTok’s decision, which a spokesperson said was made “in light of recent events”, came after the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said the US was “certainly looking at” banning Chinese social media apps including TikTok.
“We’re actively monitoring the developments in Hong Kong SAR, including any potential guidance from the U.S. government. We have paused processing any data requests from, and related to, Hong Kong SAR.”
On Monday, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegram said they had halted cooperation with data requests from Hong Kong authorities pending human rights reviews.
Zoom was criticised last month after it admitted to suspending or cancelling the accounts of Hong Kong activists on the request of Chinese authorities. Following the backlash, the company said it would stop complying with such requests, but would also explore technology to block users from inside the country.
Google announced a freeze on cooperation later that day, and on Tuesday morning Microsoft confirmed it too “was pausing our responses to these requests as we conduct our review”.
After controversial laws were imposed by the Chinese central government, sweeping new powers have been announced for Hong Kong’s police including raids without a warrant and secret surveillance. The powers allow for confiscating property related to national security offences, and allow senior police to order the takedown of online material they believe breaches the law. The chief executive can grant police permission to intercept communications and conduct covert surveillance. Penalties listed include HKD$100,000 fines and up to two years in prison.
Hours after TikTok’s announcement, the video conferencing platform Zoom told Hong Kong Free Press it would also stop complying with data requests. A spokesman for Zoom said the company “supports the free and open exchange of thoughts and ideas”.
They allow police to enter and search premises for evidence without a warrant “under exceptional circumstances”, to restrict people under investigation from leaving Hong Kong, and to demand foreign and Taiwan political organisations and agents provide information on Hong Kong-related activities.
Zoom was criticised last month after it admitted to suspending or cancelling the accounts of Hong Kong activists on the request of Chinese authorities. Following the backlash, the company said it would stop complying with such requests but would also explore technology to block users from inside the country.
The new powers were revealed when Hong Kong authorities released “implementation rules” late on Monday and swiftly used them to crack down on democratic behaviours such as holding a protest sign.
The freezing of relations between technology companies and Hong Kong law enforcement bears a resemblance to the erection of the Chinese “Great Firewall”. During the 2000s, many tech firms gradually ended cooperation with the Chinese authorities, spurred by the arrest of a journalist, Shi Tao, who was sentenced to 10 years in jail based on the contents of his Yahoo Mail account, handed over by the company in 2004.
The city’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, warned “radicals” who she said had brought danger to the country “not to challenge the law or the consequences would be serious … If people are law abiding and never think about endangering national security there is no cause for concern ever.”
Apple remains the largest US-based company to continue cooperation with law enforcement in Hong Kong. Unlike many of its competitors, the company has significant business on the Chinese mainland, where it has a large market for its devices and a substantial manufacturing base.
Asked about widespread concerns among local and foreign media that the laws put them at risk by criminalising acts of journalism, Lam said it was “not a question of me giving a guarantee on what you may or may not do”.
It has previously been criticised over its closeness to the Hong Kong authorities. In October 2019, its chief executive, Tim Cook, defended a decision to remove a mapping app used by protesters at the request of the police.
“If [the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club] or reporters in Hong Kong can give me 100% guarantee that they will not commit offences under this legislation, then I can do this,” she said.
In a statement an Apple spokesman said: “Apple has always required that all content requests from local law enforcement authorities be submitted through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in place between the United States and Hong Kong. As a result, Apple doesn’t receive content requests directly from the Hong Kong government. Under the MLAT process, the US Department of Justice reviews Hong Kong authorities’ requests for legal conformance. We’re assessing the new law, which went into effect less than a week ago, and we have not received any content requests since the law went into effect.”
She accused overseas press and governments of stoking fear, saying the new laws were “not doom and gloom” and she had not noticed fear among residents. “This law only targets four types of urgent matters,” she said repeatedly. “It does not undermine the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong.”
Lam’s press conference came one day after eight people were arrested at a silent protest where demonstrators held up blank pieces of paper at the Kwun Tong shopping mall. They were protesting against the outlawing of pro-independence slogans including “liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our time”.
Following the approval of the security law, books by pro-democracy figures have been pulled from bookstores and library authorities are reviewing their booklists.
Beijing’s imposition of the laws has been criticised as an alarming encroachment on the freedoms of the semi-autonomous city and an expansion of its hardening line against dissent.
On Tuesday the official Procuratorial Daily announced China had launched a special taskforce to ramp up political policing to maintain social stability on the mainland.
The taskforce should “crack down on all kinds of infiltration, subversion, sabotage, violent terrorist activities, ethnic separatist activities, and extreme religious activities” according to the undated notes from a meeting of the taskforce published in the paper on Monday. The main responsibility of the taskforce is stated as safeguarding China’s political system. “Political security is related to national safety and people’s well-being,” according to the notes.
