Hong Kong ISPs Oppose Government Plans for Internet Restrictions Without Industry Consultation

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Hong Kong ISPs Oppose Government Plans for Internet Restrictions Without Industry Consultation

By CircleID Reporter
August 31, 2019, 6:03 pm PDT Views: 8,972 Add Comment

Hong Kong ISPs have requested the government to seek industry consultation before any internet restrictions are made. Hong Kong Internet Service Providers Association (HKISPA) released and “Urgent” statement on Wednesday denouncing any plans that would restrict Hong Kong’s open internet network. Contrary to China’s Internet where all connections are required to pass through its Great Firewall, Hong Kong’s Internet is under an open network. HKISPA’s statement said in part:

“Technically speaking, given the complexity of the modern Internet including technologies like VPN, cloud and cryptographies, it is impossible to effectively and meaningfully block any services, unless we put the whole Internet of Hong Kong behind large scale surveillance firewall.

By the above token, HKISPA would like to warn that, imposing any insensible restrictions on the open Internet would only result in more restrictions, as the original restrictions wouldn’t be effective, and ultimately the result is putting Hong Kong’s Internet behind a big firewall. Therefore, any such restrictions, however slight originally, would start the end of the open Internet of Hong Kong, and would immediately and permanently deter international businesses from positing their businesses and investments in Hong Kong.”

By CircleID Reporter — CircleID’s internal staff reporting on news tips and developing stories. Do you have information the professional Internet community should be aware of? Contact us.
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