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Police 621 times this year asked social platforms to delete posts, an increase of 18 times annually

2019-12-11T07:58:56.636Z


The Innovation and Technology Bureau today (11th) responded to a written reply from Democratic Legislative Councillor Xu Zhifeng, stating that as of November 30 this year, the police had requested 621 times to remove posts from social platforms, an increase of 18 times from 32 times in 2018. Ranked first among the ten departments and 34 times asked the site to remove posts. The Bureau of Innovation and Technology stated that most of the laws used to prevent crimes in the real world are applicable to the Internet world. When speech is likely to violate the law, such as constituting intimidation, the police must follow up the investigation according to the situation and complaint, and point out that For the purpose of preventing and detecting crimes, the police will conduct "online patrols" when necessary. The authority mentioned that in the past few months, "a large number of fake news and allegations against the police without conclusive evidence" have been circulating on the Internet or social media, criticizing it as "creating social panic" and disrupting police-public relations.


Social News

Written by: Zheng Qiuling

2019-12-11 12:21

Last updated: 2019-12-11 15:53

The Innovation and Technology Bureau today (11th) responded to a written reply from Democratic Legislative Councillor Xu Zhifeng, stating that as of November 30 this year, the police had requested 621 times to remove posts from social platforms, an increase of 18 times from 32 times in 2018. Ranked first among the ten departments and 34 times asked the site to remove posts. The Bureau of Innovation and Technology stated that most of the laws used to prevent crimes in the real world are applicable to the Internet world. When speech is likely to violate the law, such as constituting intimidation, the police must follow up the investigation according to the situation and complaint, and point out that For the purpose of preventing and detecting crimes, the police will conduct "online patrols" when necessary. The authority mentioned that in the past few months, "a large number of fake news and allegations against the police without conclusive evidence" have been circulating on the Internet or social media, criticizing it as "creating social panic" and disrupting police-public relations.

The Innovation and Technology Bureau has criticized the Internet for a large number of false allegations against the Police Force, which are "creating social panic" and disrupting police-civilian relations. (Profile picture)

Departments have the most requests to remove posts

According to the figures provided by the Innovation and Technology Bureau, as of November 30 this year, three government departments have asked social platforms to remove posts. Among them, the police department has had a maximum of 621 times, but it has not mentioned how many of these requirements have been complied with, only Refers to "partial acceptance", a sharp increase of 18 times from 32 times in 2018, and 81 times in 2017. The Fire Services Department and the HKMA made two and one requests to remove posts on social platforms this year, respectively.

As for the number of times the site was requested to remove posts, as of November 30 this year, six government departments were involved, and up to 40 submissions were made by the Department of Health, all of which were complied with. Secondly, the Police Department has 34 times, which is an increase from 6 times in 2018. It also does not mention how many of the requirements have been complied with, but only refers to "partial acceptance". The company registrar, fire department, communications office, and housing department each made one request. This year, only the Observatory made two requests to the website to correct the contents of the post, including the report, and both were complied with.

Number of removal requests from government agencies to social platforms and website operators

department To social platforms To website
Companies Registry - 1 time
Department of Health - 40 times
Fire department 2 times 1 time
Monetary Authority 1 time -
Police department 621 times 34 times
Housing Department - 1 time
Communications Office - 1 time

Regarding the legal basis for the police ’s request to remove posts, what criteria are used, etc. The ITC said that each case has its own unique situation. The police will not comment on individual cases, but pointed out that according to the existing laws in Hong Kong, most of them are used in the real world. The laws to prevent crime apply to the Internet world. When the police are performing their duties, if they need to include information or communication technology companies to provide information or cooperate with them, they can ask the Internet platform to remove the posts when it is necessary to perform their duties.

The authority stated that some people use the Internet, including social platforms, as media and tools for crimes. To achieve the purpose of preventing and detecting crimes, the police will conduct "online patrols" when necessary, and will use the public on the Internet to prioritize actions. Search information on the platform, such as fake bank websites, illegal gambling activities, the release of child pornography, drug trafficking, online criminal defamation, etc.

The authority stated that the police respect the lawful expression of opinions and freedom of expression of the public, but must follow up the investigation when the speech may violate the law, such as constituting intimidating speech. The authority mentioned that in the past few months, "a lot of fake news and allegations against the police force that have not been proved against the police" have been circulated online or on social media. The criticism is that it "creates social panic" and undermines police relations. Intentional dissemination of rumors ", the police will continue to pay close attention to possible criminal activities on the Internet and take law enforcement actions. If there are any acts that violate the law, violence or disrupt public safety and public order, the government will definitely follow up seriously.

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Source: hk1

All news articles on 2019-12-11

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