YouTube to block access in Hong Kong to protest anthem videos after court order

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California/HONG KONG – Alphabet’s YouTube on May 14 said it will comply with a court decision and block access inside Hong Kong to 32 video links deemed to be prohibited content, in what critics say is another blow to freedom in the financial hub amid a security clampdown.

The action follows a government application granted by Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal requesting the

ban of a protest anthem called Glory To Hong Kong.

The judges warned that dissidents seeking to incite secession c

ould weaponise the song

for use against the state.

YouTube said it would raise scepticism around the Hong Kong government’s work to foster the digital economy and reclaim its reputation as a predictable place for doing business.

“We are disappointed by the court’s decision but are complying with its removal order,” it added, noting that it shares human rights groups’ concerns that the content ban could chill free expression online. “We’ll continue to consider our options for an appeal, to promote access to information.”

Some observers, including the US government, said the ban will further undermine Hong Kong’s international reputation as a financial hub, and raise concerns about the erosion of freedoms and its commitment to the free flow of information.

“It is not a desirable situation from the perspective of free internet and free speech,” said Mr George Chen, co-chair of digital practice at the Asia Group, a Washington, DC-based business policy consultancy. He is also former head of public policy for Greater China at Meta.

“Now the question is how far and how aggressive the government wants to go,” he added.

“If you start to send platforms 100 or 1,000 links for takedown every day, this will drive platforms crazy and also make global investors more worried about Hong Kong’s free market environment.

“How predictable and how stable the policy environment is matters a lot to foreign investors, and Hong Kong is now at a crossroads to defend its reputation.”

Industry groups, including the Asia Internet Coalition which represents big tech firms like Meta, Apple and Google, have said keeping a free and open internet is “fundamental” to maintaining Hong Kong’s edge.

The action is not a worldwide first for the US technology sector or Google parent Alphabet, which has restricted items when legally required to do so. In China, it has removed content.

A spokesperson for YouTube, part of Mountain View-based Alphabet in California, said the geoblocking of videos in Hong Kong would take effect immediately.

Eventually, links to the videos will no longer show up on Google Search in Hong Kong as the company’s systems process the changes, YouTube said.

Attempts to view the protest anthem on YouTube from Hong Kong displayed the message: “This content is not available on this country domain due to a court order.”

Hong Kong does not have an official anthem.

Glory To Hong Kong was written in 2019 during widespread pro-democracy protests that year, becoming an unofficial alternative anthem to China’s March Of The Volunteers.

In recent years,

Hong Kong officials have been sanctioned by the US government

for a sweeping national security crackdown on dissent that has seen many opposition democrats jailed and liberal media outlets and civil society groups shuttered.

The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with a guarantee that its freedoms would be preserved under a “one country, two systems” formula.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman has said that stopping the song’s spread is necessary for Hong Kong to safeguard national security. REUTERS