Global Times] "Education Needle" 721 "U-turn Police" Post Banned Incident

 

Over the past few years, Hong Kong has witnessed a significant decline in freedom of expression, from national security courts to the media landscape, school education, and the absence of protests. This decline has also impacted the online world. As Xi Jinping has said, "Without cybersecurity, there can be no national security." Therefore, the attacks on Hong Kong people's online communities are unsurprising.

Around the time of China's National Day (October 4th), internet restrictions became more pronounced. The "Chasing News" newspaper was targeted by state-sponsored hackers for its coverage of Chinese textbooks in the UK being infiltrated by the CCP. A Hong Kong Aid Facebook post promoting the Manchester 11 rally was removed, and the Leeds Brothers' Network's YouTube channel was deleted. Don't assume that "not engaging in politics" means you're unaffected: Last Friday (the 4th), Li Yi's children posted on Facebook announcing the official launch of the "Li Yi Memorial Website." Anyone who shared the post, including Li Yi, had it deleted by Facebook.

Internet bans have now developed to the point where Hong Kong people's overseas online media are blocked: the overseas Hong Kong magazine "Ru Shui" recently became the first overseas Hong Kong media to be blocked by the Hong Kong government. A report about the 721 "U-turn police" in the online education media "Education Needle" that I run was also blocked by Facebook and cannot be displayed in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong enters an era of internet censorship; this isn't the first time the "Lancet" post has been blocked.

The blocking of the Lancet's post is a prime example of "precision blocking." This isn't the first time the Lancet has been targeted. The previous one involved a post about public exams, which didn't have the same political impact as the July 21 incident, so it's only now receiving widespread attention.

According to a notice issued by Facebook, it was responding to a "legal request" from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data and agreed that the post was "going against local law". After conducting a "legal and human rights assessment", it decided to restrict the circulation of the post in Hong Kong, but "people in other locations can still read it" (can still be seen by people in other locations).

Facebook did not disclose further information or say which Hong Kong law it violated, but after discussing with friends in the legal profession, it is believed that it is related to the Personal Data (Privacy) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021, which targets so-called doxxing and gives the Commissioner statutory powers to require the cessation of disclosure of doxxing content.