Hong Kong (AFP)

Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam swept aside threats from internet giants like Google, Facebook and Twitter on Tuesday, which warned they could leave the territory if a controversial privacy law came into force .

The authorities of the semi-autonomous territory have unveiled a draft text aimed in particular at combating the disclosure of personal data on the Internet, a practice known as "doxing".

But the vague wording of the new text has raised the concern of the giants of the technology sector who are worried about being, they or their employees, held legally responsible for the content posted by Internet users.

Concerns expressed in a letter sent to the Hong Kong authorities by the Asia Internet Coalition, which brings together Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Apple.

"The implementation of sanctions targeting individuals does not comply with global standards and practices," reads this letter dated June 25 but which was not made public until this week.

"The only way to avoid these sanctions for tech companies would be to stop investing and offering their services in Hong Kong, which would frustrate Hong Kong businesses and consumers, while creating new barriers to trade. . "

- "Slander" -

Asked about the warning, Lam brushed aside those concerns on Tuesday.

"We are targeting the illegal practice of doxing and empowering privacy commissioners to investigate and conduct operations, that's all," she told reporters.

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Ms Lam drew a parallel between this bill and the National Security Law, which Beijing imposed on Hong Kong last year and which has been the main tool for cracking down on dissent, in the wake of the 2019 protests. .

Ms. Lam claimed that the security law had been "slandered".

"It's the same with respect to privacy law," she said.

She added that the Hong Kong privacy commission was ready to meet with representatives of the concerned companies.

But she warned her government was determined to push through the text quickly.

"Of course the ideal would be to allay fears when we prepare the law. But sometimes it is done at the time of implementation," she said.

China uses one of the most sophisticated censors in the world to control the Internet.

But it is supposed to be completely free in Hong Kong, in the name of the semi-autonomy of the territory inherited from the agreement concluded for its surrender in 1997 by London.

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And the special administrative region poses itself as a technological pole.

- "Disproportionate response" -

However, large tech companies are increasingly wary due to the strong takeover of the territory by Beijing which followed the mobilization of 2019.

The National Security Law notably gave the police new powers to crack down on online content or to investigate or freeze the assets of any company deemed to pose a threat to China.

Shortly after its entry into force, Facebook, Google and Twitter announced that they would no longer respond to requests for information about their users from the Hong Kong government and authorities.

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A submarine data cable project between the United States and Hong Kong was also scrapped, and large foreign companies began removing their data from Hong Kong-based servers.

The practice of doxing had been a weapon during the 2019 demonstrations. Many supporters of the pro-democracy movement engaged in it to make public the personal data of the police, judges or local officials.

The pro-Beijing also engaged in it against the demonstrators.

In its letter, the Asia Internet Coalition says it is hostile to doxing and says it supports efforts to fight this scourge.

But she warns that the vague wording of the bill could also target "innocent actions of online information sharing" and make technology companies liable for content posted by users.

She calls the bill a "completely disproportionate and unnecessary response."

© 2021 AFP