Judge Rejects Hong Kong’s Bid to Ban Pro-Democracy Song From Internet

The Hong Kong authorities suffered a shocking setback on Friday when a choose denied their request to ban a well-liked pro-democracy music from the web.

The authorities was in search of an injunction that might have given it the ability to pressure Google and different tech firms to limit entry to the music in Hong Kong.

Since coming underneath the tighter grip of Beijing a number of years in the past, Hong Kong has jailed political opponents, quashed avenue protest and shuttered pro-democracy newspapers. But the web, not like in mainland China, has remained largely free of presidency management.

At challenge in Friday’s ruling was “Glory to Hong Kong,” which was the unofficial anthem of 2019 democracy protests and has been a seamless flashpoint for the authorities, who contemplate it an insult to China’s nationwide anthem. It has been banned from Hong Kong faculties and has drawn indignant official rebukes when performed, apparently by mistake, at sports activities competitions.

The Hong Kong authorities was in search of a court docket injunction towards the publication or distribution of “Glory to Hong Kong” with “seditious intention” on the web or in different media.

But Judge Anthony Chan denied the request, ruling that what the federal government needed was too broad and successfully focused everybody in Hong Kong. He wrote that the injunction may have had a “chilling effect” on free speech in Hong Kong.

“Freedom of expression is not absolute in nature but is nonetheless a highly important right that cannot be lawfully restricted without the requirements of legal certainty and proportionality being met,” he added.

Judge Chan additionally stated that it might have been incorrect to grant the injunction as a result of present felony legal guidelines already give the authorities the ability to prosecute folks for spreading the music, and that this ban would have been troublesome to implement, and pointless. Numerous folks in Hong Kong have been arrested or charged for enjoying the music in public underneath an expansive nationwide safety regulation that Beijing imposed on the territory in 2020.

The injunction case has been intently watched within the Hong Kong enterprise and tech communities. Foreign companies in search of entry to China have lengthy seen town as a lovely hub, away from censorship controls in the remainder of the nation.

The Hong Kong authorities argued in court docket that “Glory to Hong Kong” ought to be banned as a result of it may mislead folks into pondering that Hong Kong is an impartial state. When Google refused a public request to take away the music in December, Hong Kong’s safety chief referred to as the corporate’s choice “unthinkable.”

The injunction request filed by the federal government in June didn’t identify Google however listed 32 hyperlinks to “Glory to Hong Kong” on Google or its sibling firm YouTube.

The Department of Justice stated in an announcement that it was learning the ruling and “considering the way forward.” Google and Meta stated Friday that they might not touch upon the ruling.

Legal specialists and enterprise leaders stated they had been shocked by the choice, given the Hong Kong courts’ document in ruling on behalf of the federal government in issues regarding nationwide safety. Some stated they had been inspired that the choose was prepared to carry the federal government in test.

Kristian Odebjer, a lawyer and the chairman of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, stated that he welcomed the choose’s choice. The “Glory to Hong Kong” case had risked “muddling” town’s fame as a spot the place the web is open, he stated. In China, the authorities block content material and web sites they don’t like, a system referred to as the Great Firewall.

“The fact that Hong Kong is outside of the Great Firewall, that we have a free flow of information and a free internet, that is clearly the key fundament in what Hong Kong is offering the world, and a key differentiator,” he stated.

Kevin Yam, a authorized researcher and former Hong Kong lawyer now primarily based in Melbourne, referred to as Judge Chan’s ruling “brave” but additionally famous that the choose emphasised the importance of the nationwide safety regulation in his choice. “National security goes to the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong, the core interests of Hong Kong people,” Judge Chan wrote.

On prime of the present nationwide safety regulation, the Hong Kong authorities is working to move laws towards subversive actions and content material that it describes as “soft resistance” and stated it plans to shut “internet loopholes.”

Multinational firms have step by step decreased their presence in Hong Kong since 2020. Stringent journey and quarantine guidelines throughout the pandemic triggered a wave of exits of executives and expert staff. Some firms have moved pc servers storing delicate data to new enterprise hubs elsewhere in Asia, like Singapore.

Facebook and Twitter had been blocked from mainland China in 2009. A yr later, Google shut down its China providers and rerouted customers to its search engine in Hong Kong, then a bastion of political freedom on Chinese soil.

Since the nationwide safety regulation was put in place, requests to tech firms by the Hong Kong authorities to take away content material on the web have soared.

Eric Lai, a visiting researcher at King’s College London School of Law, stated that he doesn’t anticipate Friday’s choice to be the ultimate phrase on “Glory to Hong Kong.”

“We have to wait and see how the government of Hong Kong will respond and whether there will be more political pressures from Beijing,” Dr. Lai stated.