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posted by martyb on Thursday July 09 2020, @12:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the communication-wants-to-be-free dept.

Millions Losing Access to Internet

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

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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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Subsentient on Thursday July 09 2020, @03:08PM (7 children)

    by Subsentient (1111) on Thursday July 09 2020, @03:08PM (#1018676) Homepage Journal

    Pray with me, Soylentils. Recite His prayer, bring him upon the CCP.

    Strange god Gerbilius, whose insanity is manifest, we pray that you unleash your righteous cruelty upon the wicked.
    Loose the winged gerbils of judgment, to feast upon the flesh of the guilty. Enter our world and bring a reckoning upon this world. The time for your judgment is now.

    --
    "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Funny=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Funny' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   3  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 09 2020, @03:34PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 09 2020, @03:34PM (#1018681)

    Where's my "±... WTF?!?" mod when I need it?

    • (Score: 2) by TheReaperD on Thursday July 09 2020, @03:42PM

      by TheReaperD (5556) on Thursday July 09 2020, @03:42PM (#1018684)

      You actually made me look for that mod for the parent post. Bad Soylent!

      --
      Ad eundum quo nemo ante iit
  • (Score: 2, Informative) by DECbot on Thursday July 09 2020, @03:58PM (3 children)

    by DECbot (832) on Thursday July 09 2020, @03:58PM (#1018690) Journal

    Is this where "gerbilling [wikipedia.org]" comes from?

    --
    cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
    • (Score: 2) by Subsentient on Thursday July 09 2020, @04:52PM (2 children)

      by Subsentient (1111) on Thursday July 09 2020, @04:52PM (#1018712) Homepage Journal

      Blasphemy!

      --
      "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
      • (Score: 2) by DECbot on Thursday July 09 2020, @08:15PM (1 child)

        by DECbot (832) on Thursday July 09 2020, @08:15PM (#1018801) Journal

        Ah ha! So they were gerbilian cultists!

        --
        cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
        • (Score: 2) by Subsentient on Thursday July 09 2020, @11:38PM

          by Subsentient (1111) on Thursday July 09 2020, @11:38PM (#1018884) Homepage Journal

          .... You know too much. The gerbils will be along to devour you shortly.

          --
          "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
  • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday July 09 2020, @07:05PM

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Thursday July 09 2020, @07:05PM (#1018766) Journal

    Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..