Internet censorship in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong and the SAR's charter, the Basic Law of the SAR, specified that Hong Kong will enjoy a high degree of autonomy except in matters of defence and foreign affairs. The Hong Kong Bill of Rights elaborates on these and other rights enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong. Section 27A of the Telecommunications Ordinance (Cap 106) enacted in 2000 provides that "any person who, by telecommunications, knowingly causes a computer to perform any function to obtain unauthorized access to any program or data held in a computer commits an offense and is liable on conviction to a fine of HK$20000". Pornography Pursuant to the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (Cap 390), it is an offence to publish an obscene article. Publication covers distribution, circulation, selling, hiring, giving, or lending the obscene article. Distribution by e-mail falls within the definition of distribution, as does the placing of an obscene article on a website. Distribution does not require any element of financial gain. The definition includes "anything consisting of or containing material to be read or looked at or both read and looked at, any sound recording, and any film, video-tape, disc, or other record of a picture or pictures". An article will be considered obscene if, by reason by its obscenity, "it is not suitable to be published to any person". Obscenity includes "violence, depravity, and repulsiveness". The penalty for this offence is up to three years imprisonment and a fine of up to HK$1,000,000. It is an offence to possess, produce, copy, import, or export pornography involving a child under 18 years of age, or to publish or cause to be published any advertisement that conveys or is likely to be understood as conveying the message that any person has published, publishes, or intends to publish any child pornography. The penalty for creation, publication, or advertisement of child pornography is eight years’ imprisonment, while possession carries a penalty of five years’ imprisonment. In April 2011 the government introduced the Copyright (Amendments) Bill 2011 that, if passed, will introduce (i) a new technology-neutral exclusive right for copyright owners to communicate their works through any mode of electronic transmission, with criminal sanctions against those who make unauthorised communication of copyright works to the public; (ii) safe harbour provisions for online service providers; and (iii) additional factors to consider by the courts when awarding additional damages for copyright infringement. There are complaints that the proposed amendments prohibiting unauthorised use of copyright material in any medium without permission threatens freedom of speech. The bill may negatively affect works of satire or parody on the Internet because there is no "fair-use exception". The government's position is that the amendments strengthen intellectual property rights. Some pan-democratic activists and supporters termed the bill an "Internet Article 23" (a reference to Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23, controversial anti-subversion measures the government proposed in 2002 that led to Hong Kong's largest-ever street demonstrations, the proposed article was withdrawn in September 2003, and then re-introduced and passed in March 2024). Hong Kong national security law Article 43 of Hong Kong national security law states that platforms, publishers, and Internet service providers (ISPs) may be ordered to take down electronic messages published that are "likely to constitute an offence endangering national security or is likely to cause the occurrence of an offence endangering national security". Individuals, organizations, and companies who do not comply with such requests could face fines of up to 100,000 HKD (US$12,903) and put into prison for six months. The Hong Kong chief executive may authorize the police to intercept communications and conduct surveillance to “prevent and detect offences endangering national security". ==Self-censorship==