HONGKONG — Israel-based web host Wix pulled a Hong Kong democracy website from its servers following a takedown request by the Chinese financial hub’s police, a decision the company said Friday was “a mistake”.
The firm later reversed the decision and reinstated the site. However, the removal is the first known case of Hong Kong police using a sweeping new national security law to demand overseas websites censor content.
Nathan Law, a former student leader and Hong Kong legislator who fled to Britain last year, tweeted on Thursday that Wix had removed www.2021HKCharter.com, a website set up by overseas activists calling for democracy in the city.
He shared a letter Hong Kong police wrote to Wix demanding the website be pulled because it contained messages “likely to constitute offences endangering national security”.
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Employees of Wix, the letter warned, could face a fine and six months in prison if they refused.
Law said the website was taken down on Monday and he tried to persuade Wix to reinstate it in private correspondence.
