Google's decision follows that of the main social networks en route to China. City-state authorities could respond by boycotting the company across the country
(photo: Tommy Walker / NurPhoto / Getty Images) Google said it will not cooperate with Chinese authorities in Hong Kong and
will no longer respond to requests to provide personal data of its users, as prescribed by the national security law just signed by the city-state. A decision expected for over a month when the main social networks, with the support of Google itself, declared themselves ready to boycott the new rule to protect the privacy of their members. The authorities, from this moment on, will
no longer bea> able to contact the Mountain View company directly, but will be forced to follow a complicated process. provided for in a treaty signed with
the United States that requires this type of request to be handled directly by the US Department of Justice: a process that can take weeks, if not months. “Since the new law was enacted, we have not responded to any of the requests that came from Hong Kong. As prescribed, all non-US authorities can try to get what they ask for through certain diplomatic procedures. We always scrutinize requests for personal data, but when they are too broad and harmful to our users' privacy we tend to reject them, ”company spokesman Aaron Stein told The Washington Post.
