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| Google has provided user data to the Hong Kong authorities |
In response to three inquiries made between July and December last year, Google made a portion of user data available to the Hong Kong government, making it the first US tech giant to ensure compliance with the revealed local authorities' requirements. Security Law. .
Last year, the company, along with other tech and social media giants, announced that it would not respond to requests for information about community users unless provided by the US Department of Justice.
According to the non-profit free news site Hong Kong Free Press, the latest information indicates that the company's position has reversed over the past year.
The company said it provided data in response to three out of 43 user inquiries received from Hong Kong authorities in the second half of last year.
The company said one of the requests it complied with was an urgent request for information that contained a real risk to life. Meanwhile, Facebook rejected urgent requests last year.
Google complied with the remaining two human trafficking requests, saying the requests had nothing to do with national security and were backed by a search warrant signed by a judge as part of the investigation.
He added that it will be dealt with in accordance with the company's global policy regarding government requests for user information.
Google has provided user data to the Hong Kong authorities
The company said that none of the responses contained user content data. It can provide other metadata in response to government inquiries. For example, subscriber information, including name and email address. and corresponding phone numbers. IP address, billing information, and timestamp.
This means that the search giant has resumed compliance with at least some user data requirements from the local government. This came after he said last year that he would not respond to any of them unless he had a MLA agreement with the US Department of Justice.
The move comes on the heels of a new national security law that China implemented in Hong Kong. This includes life imprisonment for a person convicted of vandalism.
China has arrested political and opposition protesters on charges of subversion. Facebook and Twitter have also stopped processing data requests from the Hong Kong government in response to security laws.
Google said the three Hong Kong demands it complied with were not included in the contract. He added that, in keeping with its global policy, the treaty did not require urgent, potentially fatal requests.