Hong Kong seems to be tightening up its cyberspace and setting up a “net” even for geographical registration. © HKIRC website
HKIRC, the organization designated by the Hong Kong government to register and manage all “.hk” domain names, has added a new “Policy on the Fair Use of Domain Name Registration,” which sets out a number of rules for domain names, including not “disrupting HKIRC may provide information to law enforcement agencies, in addition to the immediate cancellation of domain names.
This is a further step by the Hong Kong government after the use of national security laws to block the network, which once led to the closure of the Hong Kong Chronicle website.
Some members of the IT constituency criticized the new policy as being “spicy” and were concerned that it would make it easier for the authorities to block websites registered in Hong Kong.
When the National Security Law came into effect in July last year, HKIRC revised the document by replacing the phrase “contrary to the political security or interests of Hong Kong” with “contrary to national security or the interests of Hong Kong” in the paragraph “other cases of rejection of domain name applications.
The Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Limited (HKIRC) is the government-appointed body responsible for the administration and registration of all “.hk” domain names, with three of its seven-member Board of Directors appointed by the government, including the Chairman and Vice Chairman. The HKIRC has been approving domain name applications for the past 10 years based on a set of “Policies, Procedures and Guidelines”, which details the application process, restrictions on the use of words such as “gov” or “bank”, and approval criteria.
Six months later, HKIRC revised the document and added a new “Domain Name Registration Fair Use Policy” as a criterion for accepting domain name applications, which set out five major rules, including that a domain name must not “violate or be likely to violate in any way any applicable local, national or international law or regulation “, “contain offensive or inappropriate content”, “may deceive any person or organization”, “violate any legal duty owed to another person or organization or infringe the rights of any third party”, and “violate the rights of any third party”. and “violate the public interest or moral principles”, and that violation of the public interest includes “disrupting the operation of the Hong Kong government”, which is the English word “disrupt”. The term “disrupt” is the same as the term “subversion of state power” in the National Security Law.
The annex to the “Fair Use Policy” lists examples of potential violations, including domain names that may advocate or incite illegal activities, advocate violence, be hateful or inflammatory, humiliate, intimidate, insult, or harass any person or organization, be in contempt of court, or even “cause unnecessary anxiety” will be considered violations.
The policy also states that if a violation is found, HKIRC may deny registration of the requested domain name, immediately and permanently cancel the registered domain name, and even provide law enforcement agencies with “information that it reasonably believes to be necessary or required to be disclosed by law. The new policy will take effect on January 28.
Apple Daily quoted IT constituency member Wong Ho Wah as saying that the new policy is significantly “spicier” than the old one, as previous violations of the policy were denial of registration or cancellation, but now it indicates that the information will be forwarded to law enforcement agencies, which is believed to echo the provision of the National Security Law 43(7) to submit information to the police in cases involving national security.
Under the new policy, HKIRC may have to approve applications on a case-by-case basis under the new criteria, but its “Domain Name Registration Policies, Procedures and Guidelines” also state that HKIRC “does not, and is not capable of, assessing the legality of domain name registrations” when reviewing applications. “. Wong Ho Wah argues that HKIRC has the ability to review domain name applications in general, such as the approval of some proprietary domain names, but questions its lack of resources and ability to review legal issues.
He also criticized the vague definition of some of the criteria, “how a domain name can harass other people,” and worried that the review would extend to the content of the website, “although it says HKIRC only control the domain name, but will not look at your website content, in turn, say that you have a domain name problem? ” The new policy will give the government an additional tool to block websites registered in Hong Kong more easily.
HKIRC replied that the use of the Fair Use Policy to list inappropriate terms is a common practice and is in line with industry standards, and that the policy aims to set standards and remind domain name holders and applicants that naming should not violate “any local, national or international law or regulation. “HKIRC did not respond to the question of whether the new policy was developed in response to the National Security Act, or whether the government or police were involved in its development, but reiterated that the policy was for domain name naming only and emphasized that it was not intended to regulate the content of websites.
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