Hong Kong: Facebook and WhatsApp Won't Respond to User Information Requests

Facebook and its WhatsApp messaging service announced Monday that it will no longer respond to requests for information about their users from the government and authorities of Hong Kong, in an effort to uphold freedom of expression.

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" We are suspending consideration of government requests for Hong Kong user data pending further assessment of the national security law ," said a Facebook spokesperson. This assessment will allow a “ rigorous examination and consultations with international human rights experts ” on the situation of the island in this area. " We believe that freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and we support the right of people to express themselves without fear for their safety and without fear of other repercussions, " said the source.

The social network explains that it has a global procedure for responding to requests from governments. The review of each request takes into account both internal Facebook policy, local laws and international human rights standards.

The right to a private online conversation

The Communist regime in Beijing has imposed a text on Hong Kong to suppress subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, in response to the protest movement launched last year against the central power in the former British colony. The text is very controversial because it violates, according to its critics, the principle " One country - two systems " supposed to guarantee to the former British colony freedoms unknown elsewhere in China.

For its part, WhatsApp emphasizes that " people have the right to have a private conversation online ". It recalls that its end-to-end encryption protects the messages of 2 billion people worldwide every day. " Confidentiality has never been more important than it is now, and we remain committed to providing private and secure messaging services to our users in Hong Kong, " added a spokesperson.