Hong Kong called it “unbelievable” when Google rebuffed its 2022 request to bury a popular protest song from search results. Now armed with an injunction, authorities are putting legal pressure on the company to wipe it from the city’s internet.
The Court of Appeal on Wednesday approved the government’s application for an injunction order to prevent anyone from playing Glory to Hong Kong with seditious intent.
While the city has a new security law to punish that crime, the judgement shifted responsibility onto internet platforms, adding a new danger that just hosting the track could expose companies to legal risks.
In granting the injunction, judges said that prosecuting individual offenders wasn’t enough to tackle the “acute criminal problems”.
“The injunction was necessary to persuade the IPOs to remove the problematic videos in connection with the song from their platforms,” they wrote, referring to internet platform operators.
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 Ryan Neelam, programme director at the Lowy Institute and a former Australian diplomat to Hong Kong and Macau.
“It will further the broader chilling effect if foreign tech majors do comply,” he added.
Glory to Hong Kong was composed in 2019 by a musician using a pseudonym, with lyrics contributed by members of a local online forum, at a time when anti-government protests were gaining momentum.
As the song gained popularity, using the search term “the national anthem of Hong Kong” on Google started to return “Glory to Hong Kong” as the top search result. The song has even been played erroneously instead of the Chinese national anthem at some international sporting events.
Landmark test case
Google’s decision will amount to a landmark test case for the city’s internet freedoms. Any removals would set a precedent and fan fears that China’s sweeping censorship controls are creeping into Hong Kong. Unlike mainland China, the former British colony doesn’t block foreign social media platforms or search engines.
A representative for Google declined a request for comment. The Hong Kong government did not respond to a request for comment.
If the Silicon Valley giant doesn’t comply, it could face penalties including a fine and more criticism from the government. The American internet giant has 500 to 600 employees in Hong Kong, with the bulk of the operations focused on selling ads and marketing.
If the company were to pull out, it would need to reorganise its business operations in Asia, which may include moving some employees to other countries.
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 US government and human rights groups sounded alarm over the judgement’s impact on the city’s reputation as a finance hub. The free flow of information remains critical to Hong Kong’s appeal to global businesses, a strength lauded by Chief Executive John Lee at a summit this week aimed at attracting global talent.
The judgement included 32 links to the song on YouTube and referenced content on search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft’s Bing. The majority of the YouTube videos cited were still accessible from Hong Kong on Thursday.
The Asia Internet Coalition — an industry association that counts Google, Yahoo, Apple, Spotify and Meta as members — said it was assessing how the court decision will be implemented to determine its business impact.
Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said he expected internet companies to comply and that it wouldn’t restrict their normal operations.
“The effect is to persuade internet service providers not to provide convenience and not to facilitate the permission of unlawful act,” he said. “I think this point is very clear.”