Google reminds Chinese government ‘how our platforms work’ after row over Hong Kong search results

‘We do not manually manipulate organic web listings to determine the ranking of a specific page’

Google on Thursday said it did not manipulate the search results as claimed by the Hong Kong administration after the tech giant refused to remove a popular protest song against mainland China.

The row began after it emerged that the pro-democracy song "Glory to Hong Kong" is displayed at the top of the page instead of the city's official "March of the Volunteers".

Last month the protest song, which gained popularity during the 2019 pro-democracy protests, was accidentally played for Hong Kong athletes at two international sports events, drawing ire from city officials. The song was banned after Beijing imposed the draconian national security law and authorities began a crackdown on those using it.