TikTok is pulling out of Hong Kong


Beijing-based short-form video app TikTok said Monday that it would get out of the Hong Kong market following the enactment of China's new security law in the semi-autonomous former British colony, CNBC reports. TikTok previously said it would not comply with requests from China for user data or censorship. Also on Monday, Facebook, Twitter, and Google said they would stop processing requests from Hong Kong authorities for user data, pending a review of China's newly imposed security law, according to The Washington Post. The law, which lets Beijing crack down on government critics and reduces Hong Kong's autonomy, has had a chilling effect on free speech and internet use, as many Hong Kong residents deleted social media accounts and one upstart political party shut down.
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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
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