The song, Glory To Hong Kong, was released during anti-government protests in 2019.
HONG KONG – Hong Kong said it was “unbelievable” when Google rebuffed its 2022 request to bury a popular protest song from search results. Now armed with an injunction, the authorities are putting legal pressure on the tech firm to wipe it from the city’s internet search pages.for an injunction order to prevent anyone from playing protest song Glory To Hong Kong with seditious intent.
The injunction “places Google, media platforms and other social media companies in a difficult position: essentially pitting values such as free speech in direct conflict with legal obligations”, said Mr Ryan Neelam, programme director at the Lowy Institute, and former Australian diplomat to Hong Kong and Macau. He added: “It will further the broader chilling effect if foreign tech majors do comply.
The loss of Google could set back the city’s renewed efforts to bolster its image as a global business hub, after years of Covid curbs and a Beijing-imposed security law dented sentiment. The Asia Internet Coalition – an industry association that counts Google, Yahoo, Apple, Spotify Technology, and Meta Platforms as members – said it was assessing how the court decision will be implemented to determine its business impact.An erosion of HK’s value proposition? New security law draws mixed reactions
Since 2011, the Hong Kong authorities have made 325 content removal requests, nearly 60 per cent of which were made in 2023, the company disclosed. In March 2023, Google said it didn’t comply with requests from Hong Kong police to remove two YouTube links related to Glory To Hong Kong. Popular versions of the Glory To Hong Kong tracks temporarily disappeared from Apple and Spotify platforms in June 2023. The song’s composer, “ThomasDGX & HongKongers”, later said in a statement that the removed tracks were re-listed on major media sites after “technical issues unrelated to the streaming platforms”. The composer didn’t respond to an e-mailed request for comment on the latest injunction.
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