Apple 'assessing' China's national security law as other tech companies pause government data requests

Google, Microsoft, and Twitter have said they would not comply with requests until they have reviewed the law

Getty Images (JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

As technology companies pull out or consider their presence in Hong Kong due to new legislation from the Chinese government, Apple has said it is “assessing” the impact of the new law.

However, unlike other companies, it has not yet suspended data requests from Chinese authorities.

The new law, officially called the “Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,” criminalises any act of secession, subversion, terrorism, or collusion with foreign forces.

The law has been criticised for being a “euphemism for anything, or anyone, that the ruling Communist Party of China (CCP) disapproves of”.

This is because of its powers to curtail free speech, such as the protest slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times”.

China claims the law returns stability to the region.

“Apple has always required that all content requests from local law enforcement authorities be submitted through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in place between the United States and Hong Kong [...] the US Department of Justice reviews Hong Kong authorities' requests for legal conformance,” a spokesperson told Bloomberg.

A ‘Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty’ allows countries outside of the United States to request data from the technology companies by law enforcement.

According to the company’s website, between January and June 2019 Apple responded to 358 requests for device data from Hong Kong, 155 requests for financial data, and two requests for access to accounts data.

The technology giant approved most device data requests (91 per cent), 68 per cent of the financial requests, and both of the requests to access account data.

Since 2013, the company has complied with the majority of requests.

Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and Zoom have all said they would not comply with data requests from the Chinese government until they have reviewed the law.

It follows Facebook and its subsidiaries, WhatsApp and Instagram, taking a similar decision, as has messaging service Telegram.

TikTok has said that it is pulling the viral video app from stores in Hong Kong.

While many technology companies are banned in China, such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter, Apple has a strong presence in the country due to its manufacturing needs.

The company has been criticised for apparently caving to pressure from the Chinese government before, when it removed the Hkmap.live application from its App Store last year. The app was used by both protestors and other Hong Kong citizens for real-time updates on police locations.

In response, Apple CEO Tim Cook said there was “credible information” from Hong Kong police that the app was used “maliciously to target individual officers for violence and to victimize individuals and property where no police are present."