Tech companies that handle data are particularly vulnerable under the new law. Police can ask them to delete or restrict access to content deemed to endanger national security, with non-compliance punishable with a fine of HK$100,000 and six months in prison for representatives of infringing publishers. Such provisions put technology companies under"tremendous risk and liability", said Charles Mok, a Hong Kong lawmaker."It's a signal to these companies to be very careful.
More than half of Measurable AI's clients are US-based. The Hong Kong firm tracks business receipts and provides transactional data to hedge funds and corporations, many of whom have expressed concern about how data trade may be affected by the Beijing law as well as Washington's retaliatory measure of rescinding Hong Kong's special trade status.
"Doing a startup in Hong Kong is already difficult. It's a super expensive city," Scott Salandy-Defour, co-founder of energy-tech startup Liquidstar, told Bloomberg News. Even before the new law, the situation in the city was fraught with US-China tensions over everything from trade to human rights.
"This would be just a short-term phenomenon. I think after they understand the society is more stable, businesses will come back," said Terence Chong, an associate professor of economics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong."Hong Kong is the gateway to China. If they want to have access to China's market, it is the best place for them."
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