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Millions Losing Access to Internet

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for GrandFireWizard:

Millions losing access to internet:

Millions of people look set to lose access to the free and open internet as China’s control over Hong Kong increases.

A new law was ushered in by Beijing last month that gave China sweeping powers over opposition against itself, both within its borders and outside of them, which could put people in jail for years if they commit vaguely defined political crimes.

The controversial national security law was used to make arrests within hours.

[...] Hong Kong police now have sweeping powers to order social media platforms and publishers to remove content, as well as ban the platforms altogether.

Undefined “exceptional circumstances” also give police the right to seize and search electronic devices.

A number of tech companies including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and Zoom have said they’re pausing the review of law enforcement requests for data or stopping it altogether while they assess the impact of the new law.

[...] Tech companies and many others have been balancing a desire to uphold support for Hong Kong independence during recent protests with the desire to avoid annoying the Chinese government and losing access to its market of 1.4 billion, increasingly upwardly mobile citizens.

Hong Kong Downloads of Signal Surge as Residents Fear Crackdown

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Hong Kong downloads of Signal surge as residents fear crackdown:

The secure chat app Signal has become the most downloaded app in Hong Kong on both Apple's and Google's app stores, Bloomberg reports, citing data from App Annie. The surging interest in encrypted messaging comes days after the Chinese government in Beijing passed a new national security law that reduced Hong Kong's autonomy and could undermine its traditionally strong protections for civil liberties.

The 1997 handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China came with a promise that China would respect Hong Kong's autonomy for 50 years following the handover. Under the terms of that deal, Hong Kong residents should have continued to enjoy greater freedom than people on the mainland until 2047. But recently, the mainland government has appeared to renege on that deal.

[...] The New York Times reports that "the four major offenses in the law—separatism, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign countries—are ambiguously worded and give the authorities extensive power to target activists who criticize the party, activists say." Until now, Hong Kongers faced trial in the city's separate, independent judiciary. The new law opens the door for dissidents to be tried in mainland courts with less respect for civil liberties or due process.

This has driven heightened interest among Hong Kongers in secure communication technologies. Signal offers end-to-end encryption and is viewed by security experts as the gold standard for secure mobile messaging. It has been endorsed by NSA whistleblower Ed Snowden.

[...] Bloomberg has also reported on the surging adoption of VPN software in Hong Kong as residents fear government surveillance of their Web browsing.

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