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Trending: Doxxed and hacked In Hong Kong

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Doxxed And Hacked In Hong Kong

14/11/2020 GMT

Doxxed and hacked In Hong Kong

BBC World Service - Trending, Doxxed and hacked In Hong Kong

Who’s behind the shady tactics targeting pro-democracy activists online?

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists are being targeted by mysterious online campaigns. Who’s behind the attacks, and can the activists rely on unlikely allies - in Silicon Valley?

The fight over democracy in Hong Kong continues. In the week that pro-democracy lawmakers resigned en masse in protest at the sacking of four of their colleagues, we take a look at the secretive struggles happening online. 

Trade union leader Carol Ng was shocked to find her phone number and photo on a mysterious website – HK Leaks – which lists names and personal details of some 1,800 activists.

Who is behind the site? It appears to be hosted in Russia, but many believe it’s a smear campaign driven by the Chinese authorities.

Also featured on the site is Nathan Law, one of Hong Kong’s youngest-ever lawmakers. He fled to the UK in the wake of a new security law.

We meet him in London, where he tells us about “government backed” attempts to hack his online accounts, and also about his unique relationship with California’s social media giants. 

Big tech appears to be standing shoulder to shoulder with the activists, and protecting them from government intrusion online – but that doesn’t mean the companies want to say much about it.

Facebook, Google and others have previously tried to court the Chinese government, in hopes of gaining access to an enormous new market. So this time around, are the firms acting out of nobility – or are there more strategic forces at play?

Presenter: Sam Judah

(Photo: Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Nathan Law. Credit: Getty Images)

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