Hong Kong Police Commissioner Anthony Tang speaks to reporters in Hong Kong on May 12.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) expressed concern that the Hong Kong government is considering introducing legislation to ban “fake news” and called on the government to support press freedom.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) noted on May 12 that Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said at a May 4 press conference that the government is considering introducing legislation to combat “fake news.”
At the press conference, Mrs. Lam said the government is studying a new piece of legislation to address “the increasingly worrying trend of spreading false information, disinformation, hate and lies on social media,” citing “the harm it is doing to many people.” Mrs. Lam said there was no timetable for the legislation and that government officials were looking at ways to deal with it overseas.
Before that, she told Hong Kong’s Legislative Council in February that the government would address the invasion of personal privacy and the spread of “fake news” and hate speech.
The International Federation of Journalists said this was of great concern to journalists in Hong Kong, especially as press freedom in Hong Kong has already regressed following the full implementation of the national security law in 2020. The Alliance believes international experience has shown that legislation purporting to deal with fake news is invariably used by governments to silence critical voices and further restrict press freedom.
The International Federation of Journalists noted that Hong Kong Police Commissioner Chris Tang said on April 16 that the police would investigate the use of fake news to jeopardize the security of Hong Kong. He also said that “foreign powers” were using “Hong Kong’s agents to use fake news and false information to incite hatred, divide society, create conflict, and threaten people who tell the truth.” The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong then issued an open letter to Anthony Tang saying, “The term ‘fake news’ is vaguely defined, subjective and has been used by public figures around the world to attack what they consider to be unfavorable reporting and the journalists responsible for it, even when the reporting is factually correct. “
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