DIGITAL LIFE

WhatsApp stops processing data requests from Hong Kong authorities

WhatsApp has suspended Hong Kong police user data processing requests. This was in response to China's introduction of a new national security law passed last Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The company will not provide user data to Hong Kong authorities until it examines whether the new law complies with the generally accepted human rights law. The decision was made shortly after China drafted a new regulation that criminalized acts previously considered legal in Hong Kong.
It is worth mentioning that Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter have worked freely in Hong Kong for many years, unlike mainland China, where the so-called Great Firewall operates. Note that the new law takes Hong Kong a step closer to authoritarian digital censorship in China.
Western states have condemned the introduction of a new security law in Hong Kong. The United Kingdom saw this as a clear and serious violation of the Joint Declaration signed by the two countries, under which the former colony was returned to China in 1997, after more than 150 years of British rule.

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