Twitter and Facebook respond to harsh new Hong Kong security law

Oh hey would you look at that: Twitter and Facebook just did something good. 

The two tech giants took a stand, albeit a temporary one, for their Hong Kong users following the passage of a new restrictive national security law last week. Both companies confirmed to Mashable that, for the time being, they have stopped responding to data requests from Hong Kong law enforcement as they evaluate the law. 

A main point of concern is that the measure, which human rights activists worry is designed to curtail freedom of speech in Hong Kong, was both rushed in its passage and allows for lifelong prison sentences for poorly defined offenses.

“Given the rapid pace at which the new National Security Law in China has been passed and that it was only published in its entirety for the first time last week,” a Twitter spokesperson said in an email, “our teams are reviewing the law to assess its implications, particularly as some of the terms of the law are vague and without clear definition.”

Twitter confirmed that it took this action immediately following the passage of the law.

“Like many public interest organizations, civil society leaders and entities, and industry peers, we have grave concerns regarding both the developing process and the full intention of this law,” continued the spokesperson.   

Facebook, for its part, is taking a similar approach. 

“We have a global process for government requests and in reviewing each individual request, we consider Facebook’s policies, local laws and international human rights standards,” a Facebook spokesperson said in an email. “We are pausing the review of government requests for user data from Hong Kong pending further assessment of the National Security Law, including formal human rights due diligence and consultations with international human rights experts.”

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Twitter, as a policy, discloses requests made by governments for user data in its biannual transparency report. Facebook also publishes a list of government requests for user data in its transparency report. In the second half of 2019, for example, Facebook said it produced at least some data for 74.4 percent of the 140,875 requests it received. According to that report, 0 percent of China’s requests for user data was fulfilled by Facebook during that same period of time.