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Microsoft, Zoom join list of tech companies refusing to give user data to Hong Kong authorities

July 8, 2020

Facebook, Google and Twitter have already made similar announcements.

Microsoft and Zoom are joining a growing list of tech companies who say they'll no longer work with Hong Kong authorities to process data requests on users.

It comes after a new security law criminalised acts that support Hong Kong’s independence from China.

The companies join other tech giants Facebook, Google, Twitter and Telegram who have already announced they won’t comply with authorities’ requests to access users’ data.

Social media platform TikTok has also withdrawn from app stores in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Apple said it was assessing the new law.

The security law, passed last week, banned what Beijing defined as a secessionist, subversive and terrorist act. It also banned what it deemed collusion with foreigners.

The law allows police to order social media platforms, publishers and internet service providers to remove content that is “likely to constitute an offence endangering national security or is likely to cause the occurrence of an offence endangering national security”, the Associated Press reported.

Companies who fail to comply could face fines of up to NZ$19,700. Those who post the messages could also be asked to remove the message or risk fines and a jail term of up to a year.

Police can also intercept communications and conduct surveillance to protect “national security”, and can do so without a warrant in “exceptional circumstances”. 

Since the law’s passing on June 30, about 370 people have been arrested.

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