Blocking Google? Hong Kong internet providers express concerns over enforcing possible protest song ban
- Residents could be cut off from Google if internet providers obliged to block ‘Glory to Hong Kong’, industry group warns
- Legal experts say foreign tech giants such as Google are unlikely to comply with potential ban on protest song sought by government
Hong Kong-based internet service providers (ISPs) have expressed fears the burden of enforcing a potential ban on a protest song sought by the government will fall on them, while legal experts say foreign tech giants such as Google are unlikely to comply with the pending injunction.
Residents could be cut off from Google altogether if providers were obliged to block “Glory to Hong Kong”, an industry group said.
The writ asked the court to prevent people harbouring criminal intent from “broadcasting, performing, printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, disseminating, displaying or reproducing” the song “in any way”.
The government said it aimed to target anyone who intended to incite others to separate Hong Kong from the country or insult the national anthem “March of the Volunteers” by disseminating the protest song, according to an earlier statement.
“Glory to Hong Kong”, instead of “March of the Volunteers”, has appeared in top Google search results for “Hong Kong national anthem”. The issue came to light late last year after a series of mix-ups at international sports tournaments.
According to Craig Choy Ki, a barrister in the United States, there could be several reasons Google and other US-based companies would ignore an order granted by a Hong Kong court.