Google, Facebook, Microsoft Pause Hong Kong Data Requests

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Hong Kong law raises questions about free speech in the region

Police make an arrest during a protest in Hong Kong on July 1.Photographer: Roy Liu/Bloomberg

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By Kurt Wagner

July 6, 2020 at 3:45 PM UTC

Updated on

July 7, 2020 at 10:26 AM UTC

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Google, Facebook Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Twitter Inc. won’t process user data requests from the Hong Kong government amid concerns that a new security law could criminalize protests.

Last Wednesday, when the law took effect, Google paused production on any new information requests from Hong Kong authorities, said a spokesperson for the Alphabet Inc. unit. “We’ll continue to review the details of the new law,” the spokesperson added.