Don’t expect Google and other tech giants to rush enforcement ban on ‘Glory of Hong Kong’ after court ruling, experts say
- Google may simply restrict how song appears on local search result listings and decline to enforce ban globally, one industry figure says
- Post check finds song readily available on Google, iTunes, YouTube, Facebook, Spotify and KKBOX
Tech giants such as Google might take a wait-and-see approach to Hong Kong’s new ban on a controversial protest song as they also risked coming under fire in their home countries if they complied with the injunction, industry experts and political observers have said.
A Post check on Thursday found “Glory of Hong Kong” – considered the unofficial anthem of the 2019 anti-government protests – was readily available on Google, iTunes, YouTube, Facebook, Spotify and KKBOX, a day after the city’s Court of Appeal granted an interim injunction against its circulation.
Google, which owns YouTube, said it was reviewing the court judgment.
The US-based company previously refused the Hong Kong government’s repeated requests to amend its search results to rank the Chinese national anthem “March of the Volunteers” above the protest song
Jeff Paine, managing director of the Asia Internet Coalition whose members include Spotify, Apple and X, said his organisation was assessing the implications of the injunction, including how it would be implemented.
“We believe that a free and open internet is fundamental to the city’s ambitions to become an international technology and innovation hub,” he said.
