Israel-based Web host Wix pulled a Hong Kong democracy Web site from its servers following a takedown request by the territory’s police, a decision the company said yesterday was “a mistake.”
The firm later reversed the decision and reinstated the site. However, the removal is the first known case of Hong Kong police using a sweeping new national security law to demand overseas Web sites censor content.
Nathan Law (羅冠聰), a former student leader and Hong Kong legislator who fled to Britain last year, wrote on Twitter on Thursday that Wix had removed www.2021HKCharter.com, a Web site set up by overseas activists calling for democracy in the territory.
Photo: AP
He shared a letter that Hong Kong police wrote to Wix demanding the site be pulled because it contained messages “likely to constitute offences endangering national security.”
Employees of Wix could face a fine and six months in prison if they refused, the letter said.
The Web site was taken down on Monday and he tried to persuade Wix to reinstate it in private correspondence, Law said.
The site only reappeared after Law went public.
“The Web site was removed by mistake,” a Wix spokesperson said by e-mail. “We have reviewed our initial screening and have realized that the Web site never should have been removed and we would like to apologize.”
“We are also reviewing our screening process in order to improve and make sure that mistakes such as this do not repeat in the future,” the statement added.
The takedown order comes as China’s campaign to silence dissent in Hong Kong rattles tech brands.
Beijing imposed sweeping national security legislation on the territory after huge democracy protests in 2019. The legislation outlawed many forms of dissent and gave police broad Internet takedown powers.
China has also awarded itself “universal jurisdiction” to pursue any perceived national security crime committed by anyone overseas.
That leaves tech companies in a potentially precarious position, especially those that have offices or servers in Hong Kong or a presence in the mainland Chinese market.
Although China keeps its Internet ring-fenced behind a “Great Firewall,” Hong Kong still maintains open online access, but authorities have started to step up online controls.
Earlier this week, new legislation was passed making it compulsory to present identification when buying prepaid SIM cards.
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