Global technology giants including Facebook Inc, Google and Twitter may soon shut operations in Hong Kong. The top platforms have already hinted to the Hong Kong administration about discontinuing their services in wake of the new proposed data-protection laws in the country.
According to the top sources, the new proposed laws make the tech companies liable for the malicious sharing of individuals' information online. A letter sent by an industry group in this regard that also includes the internet firms said companies are concerned that the planned rules to address ‘doxing' could put their staff at risk of criminal investigations or prosecutions related to what the firms' users post online, Journal reported.
Doxing is an act of revealing people's personal information such as real name, home address or workplace online without the user's permission. Hong Kong's Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau in May proposed amendments to the data protection laws that it said were needed to combat doxing, a practice that was prevalent during 2019 protests in the city.
According to a recent report, a letter dated June 25 was sent by the Singapore-based Asia Internet Coalition to the government administration in this regard. “The only way to avoid these sanctions for technology companies would be to refrain from investing and offering the services in Hong Kong,” the letter said.
