Facebook, Google and Twitter are threatening to leave Hong Kong for a secret change

The technology industry is already there against the Hong Kong government, and those problems seem to be escalating. The program of Wall Street Journal but he learned that Asia Internet Coalition, a strategic partnership with Facebook, Google and Twitter, has quietly warned Hong Kong that companies will stop working in the region if the authorities make progress and changes to data protection laws could put companies at risk. jumping meetings.

The tech giants are worried that co-workers could be harassed or prosecuted if readers share too much information online, even if it doesn’t mean any harm. These could be “completely unnecessary and unnecessary responses” and could hinder free speech, Coalition wrote. The agreement instead insisted that Hong Kong reduce its legal deficit.

The Commissioner of Secrecy in Hong Kong acknowledged that the letter existed, but said that new measures were needed after the pressure to enforce “moral and legal limits.” The commissioner also said that the amendments would “not affect” freedom of speech, and would not protect foreign exchange in Hong Kong.

These changes can be approved at the end of the legal year.

The worry, as you can imagine, is that Chinese authorities could misuse amended laws to eliminate dissent. Democrats harassed police and others frequently during the 2019 demonstrations, and there are concerns that amended laws could be drafted so that simply sharing a photo of everyone in the group could bring in shareholders and industry-leading companies. It would be difficult for the police to answer charges of violence, or to reprimand officials for opposing democracy.