TikTok said it is withdrawing its video-sharing app from Google and Apple app stores in Hong Kong.
“In light of recent events, we’ve decided to stop operations of the TikTok app in Hong Kong”, the company said on Monday.
The move comes after China’s parliament last month passed a national security law for Hong Kong, that aims to tackle secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, with punishments of up to life in prison. On Monday, Hong Kong released new rules that give the authorities the ability to jail employees at internet companies if they do not comply with requests for user data.
Google, Facebook and Twitter said Monday they would temporarily stop processing Hong Kong government requests for user data.
“We are pausing the review of government requests for user data from Hong Kong pending further assessment of the National Security Law, including formal human rights due diligence and consultations with international human rights experts. We believe freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and support the right of people to express themselves without fear for their safety or other repercussions”, Facebook said in a statement.
TikTok is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance Ltd., but is not available in mainland China. It said it will pull out of the Hong Kong market within days, and the app will be inoperable there.
