Crowdfunding Launched To Fight Internet Curbs

IT professionals and free-speech advocates are appealing for donations to fund a judicial review against a court injunction that they say blocks free expression online.

The injunction, issued by the High Court on October 31, bans anyone from posting information that encourages or incites violence on the internet, and this includes the LIHKG forum and the messaging app Telegram which are popular with protesters.

The Internet Society Hong Kong said on Tuesday that the injunction is a severe threat to freedom of expression, and also an extremely dangerous first step of internet censorship.

It warned that the injunction's provisions are overly broad, forcing the public to engage in self-censorship, and the government could use it to force internet service providers to censor and restrict access to websites and applications, or request personal information of online users.

The society's chairman, Ben Cheng, said it is not just protesters who should be worried about the injunction.

"There is also the possibility that if this becomes something permanent, that would also not affect just the activists and also the general population, but also, for example, other tech companies internationally, they may consider it a problem for them to invest or to set up a new data centre in Hong Kong."

The interim injunction remains in force until Friday, but the Internet Society said it expects the government to apply for it to be extended.

IT sector lawmaker Charles Mok said he is worried that the current violence in Hong Kong will escalate – and the government may invoke further emergency powers to filter the internet, or reveal people's real identities and stifle free speech.