YouTube said on Tuesday it would comply with a court order to prevent users in Hong Kong from viewing a popular democracy anthem, raising concerns about free speech and highlighting the increasingly tense environment for technology companies operating in Chinese territory.
Last week, a Hong Kong court accepted a government request to ban the song “Glory to Hong Kong,” which lists 32 links to videos on YouTube. The judges said the song was a “weapon” that could be used to undermine national security.
The court said the court order was “necessary to persuade” the technology companies to “remove” the songs from their platforms.
A YouTube representative said in a statement that the company would “continue to consider” an appeal of the court ruling but would comply with the order.
“We are disappointed by the court’s decision, but we are complying with its takedown order by blocking access to the listed videos for Hong Kong viewers,” the representative said.
Like most technology companies, Google has a policy of removing or restricting access to material that a court considers illegal in certain countries or locations.
Links to the videos would also stop appearing in Google search results for users in Hong Kong after they became unavailable on YouTube for viewers in the region, according to the company representative.
Since protests shook the city in 2019, “Glory to Hong Kong” has been a flashpoint for authorities, who considered it an insult to China’s national anthem. The song has been banned in Hong Kong schools.
Beijing has asserted greater control over the former British colony in recent years by imposing a national security law that has crushed almost all forms of dissent. People convicted of posting seditious content online have gone to prison.
In March, the Hong Kong government enacted new security legislation that criminalized crimes such as “external interference” and theft of state secrets, creating potential risks for multinational companies operating in the Asian financial hub.