TikTok calls to withdraw its operations from Hong Kong, citing the new security law imposed by China. The withdrawal would be in a matter of days, and also cited the latest move from Facebook, Google, and Twitter which have paused reviewing government’s user data requests. The new national security law openly curbs political expression and gives put offenders a life imprisonment sentence.
TikTok Stops Working in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has been protesting over the domination of China on its territory since last year. The new national security law proposed by China is the cause, which criminalizes “secession, subversion, organization, and perpetuation of terrorist activities, and collusion with a foreign country.” This includes activities like damaging public transportation and arson.
The Chinese government has been crafting the law secretly for so long and was passed just before Hong Kong’s independence day, on July 1st. Being effective since last week, a person was also arrested under the new law for being against and also riding his bike onto a cop. While the locals have realized what they’ve been losing, Silicon Valley companies are starting now.
Yesterday, the top American companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter have said they’re pausing the review requests from Hong Kong government’s over user data, citing the new security law. They reveal the reason to be studying the law more closely, before serving again. These companies receive several requests every year.
And now, TikTok has declared it would completely stop serving the Hong Kong citizens citing the same reasons. TikTok too would be asked for user data requests but decided to stop operating at all. A company spokesperson from Singapore told CNET, “In light of recent events, we’ve decided to stop operations of the TikTok app in Hong Kong.” This also includes the move made by Silicon Valley companies recently.