HK places Google in hot seat following ban on protest song

Hong Kong has placed Google in hot seat after the authorities granted the injunction to ban the controversial protest song Glory to Hong Kong (《願榮光歸香港》).

It comes as the Court of Appeal of the High Court allowed the Secretary for Justice's appeal, and granted an interim injunction concerning four specified criminal acts in relation to the song, including the ban of the broadcasting, performing, printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, disseminating, displaying or reproducing in any way including on the internet and any media accessible online of the song.

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said yesterday (9 May) at a media session that, the government will request or require relevant internet service providers such as Google to remove the relevant content in accordance with the terms of the court injunction.

A spokesperson from Google told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that it is reviewing the court's judgment.

The move has in fact imposed a new danger that just hosting the track could expose companies to legal risks. Meanwhile, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw different versions of the song can still be found on online platforms such as Google, YouTube and Spotify. 

The court's decision has in fact stirred up conversations across social platforms. Media intelligence firm CARMA saw over 200 mentions over the past two days. Of these mentions, 30.2% carried a negative sentiment, while 12.6% expressed positive sentiments.

Heated discussions, particularly on LIHKG, have taken place regarding this development, said Charles Cheung, CARMA’s HK GM. “Many netizens believe that such actions by the authorities will discourage MNCs from continuing their operations in Hong Kong. This, in turn, could potentially impact the city's reputation and competitiveness as a global financial hub.”

Cheung added that some netizens have suggested that it remains unclear whether Google is obligated to remove the protest song from its search results.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Google and Department of Justice respectively for a statement. 

Don’t miss: 'Let's deal with it in a legal way,' says HK tech chief over the banning of protest song

Back in July last year, Hong Kong's innovation and tech chief said the removal of protest song "Glory to Hong Kong" on Google's anthem search results had to be dealt with "in a legal way", as Google required proven evidence that the song itself is against the local law.

Meanwhile, journalists will still be allowed to report news related to the song , as well as play the song in news reports and commentaries even the government wins the injunction application to ban it, according to the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA).

Related articles:

Journalists to be exempt from protest song ban if injunction passes
'Let's deal with it in a legal way,' says HK tech chief over the banning of protest song
Variations of HK protest song vanish from music streaming sites