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Guo Weiqiang advocates legislation to control false information on the Internet Xu Yingwei: Check whether there are loopholes to be filled

2020-12-09T09:39:57.024Z


The Legislative Council meeting resumed today (9th). The Federation of Trade Unions, Kwok Wai Keung, raised verbal inquiries against deliberately spreading false and public safety messages on the Internet. He criticized the anti-amendment legislation last year for discrediting the police and inciting


Political situation

Written by: Zhai Ruimin

2020-12-09 13:27

Last update date: 2020-12-09 13:28

The Legislative Council meeting resumed today (9th). The Federation of Trade Unions, Guo Weiqiang, raised oral questions against deliberately spreading false and public safety messages on the Internet. He criticized last year’s anti-amendment legislation for discrediting the police and inciting hatred. The Internet has flooded the Internet with information that endangers public safety, causing the "black storms" to intensify and the society torn apart. It is recommended that the Hong Kong government formulate special laws against such behaviors.

In response, the Secretary for Home Affairs, Xu Yingwei, pointed out that policy bureaux have been closely monitoring rumors and false reports on the Internet. Once they find that incorrect information has spread widely, causing social misunderstanding or negative atmosphere, they will immediately clarify through different channels, such as news. Manuscripts or social media posts, etc., to curb the spread of rumors and public doubts.

Xu Yingwei spoke extremely fast in response to the question, and Guo Weiqiang was reprimanded by Guo Weiqiang as to whether he had a guilty conscience because the authorities refused to legislate. Xu Yingwei later said that he would speak slowly.

Guo Weiqiang pointed out that there is currently no special law in Hong Kong aimed at deliberately disseminating false and endangering public safety information. In contrast, many countries have enacted legislation on this in recent years, such as the "Social Network Compulsory Law" enacted by Germany in 2017 and the "Social Network Compulsory Law" enacted by France in 2018. Anti-Information Manipulation Law and Anti-False Information Law, etc.

Guo Weiqiang suggested that the authorities should consider enacting special laws to combat such acts.

Xu Yingwei responded that the Internet world is not impossible to follow. Most of the laws used to prevent crimes in the real world apply to the Internet. Any activity that promotes others to commit crimes or cyberbullying will be regulated by relevant laws as long as criminal offences are involved. , Such as "criminal intimidation" and "extortion crime"; posting messages that endanger public safety on the Internet may also violate the "crime of inciting others to commit public nuisance."

Xu Yingwei said that Hong Kong has always been one of the safest cities in the world, but the social turmoil in the past year has severely disrupted social order and the rule of law. To reverse the situation requires strict law enforcement.

However, he said that the enactment of special laws involves a number of complex and controversial issues. The police can now use existing laws to combat illegal online activities. The bureau will also pay attention to relevant overseas laws to examine whether there are loopholes in Hong Kong that need to be filled.

Xu Yingwei: The Law Reform Commission is conducting research

Kuo Weiqiang retorted that the smearing of the police force did not happen overnight. It was caused by the superposition of multiple false messages. The government does not have three heads and six arms to complete all the clarification work.

He criticized that the authorities took the lead in underestimating the power of fake information, and even required the state to make legislation like the "Hong Kong National Security Law."

Xu Yingwei said that the Law Reform Commission has established a subcommittee to study the possibility of technology being used for illegal activities.

Ma Fengguo.

(Photo by Li Zetong)

Ma Fengguo: Online fake news is organized and deployed.



The Pakatan Harapan Lin Jianfeng said that the proliferation of fake news seriously jeopardizes Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center. For example, a bank run was reported at the beginning of the year, and recently some banks were speculated by rumors, which seriously affected Hong Kong’s finances. reputation.

Xu Yingwei responded that law enforcement is diversified, and there should be different legal focus and frameworks for different scenarios. Research is ongoing, and no new information is provided at this stage.

Ma Fengguo, who is out of bounds of sports art and literature, said that online fake news has been distributed organized and deployed, and the power that can be exerted is amazing. He also described the anti-regulation campaign last year as an "unsuccessful coup."

He pointed out that the current legal system is insufficient to deal with the threat of false information to social peace.

Xu Yingwei pointed out that the "Hong Kong National Security Law" regulates related behaviors.

Home Affairs Bureau Federation of Trade Unions Guo Weiqiang Legislative Council Xu Yingwei

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2020-12-09

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