Hong Kong leader says Google has a “moral obligation” to remove the fake anthem

(FILES) A file photo taken on January 18, 2019 shows internet giant Google’s logo above the entrance to its offices in London. – The UK’s Competition Markets Authority (CMA) has accepted Google’s proposed changes regarding third-party cookies and the way Google uses its users’ data, according to a statement published on February 11, 2022. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP)

Hong Kong officials have been furious over a series of blunders at international sporting events in recent weeks, when a protest song was played instead of the Chinese national anthem for the city’s athletes.

Her anger has increasingly focused on Google after it emerged that the protest song “Glory to Hong Kong” routinely appears at the top of the page when people search for Hong Kong’s anthem.

City leader John Lee told reporters on Tuesday that Google should make sure China’s national anthem – under which the city’s athletes compete – is at the top of the search page.

“If a company has any kind of responsibility, it has this moral obligation,” he said.

“There are ways to do this,” Lee added.

Lee’s comment came a day after Hong Kong’s security chief Chris Tang said Google had refused to change search results, which he described as a “huge regret”.

According to Tang, a former police chief, Google said its search engine results are driven by an algorithm, not human input.

Both Tang and Lee have countered that Google has been willing to change search results to comply with local laws, including privacy laws in the European Union.

Lee said his administration would contact Google again to follow up on the matter.

Google has not yet responded to requests for comments.

China’s national anthem is “March of the Volunteers,” a rousing song born of the Communist Party’s struggle to liberate the country from Japanese occupation.

Written during major protests that swept Hong Kong in 2019, Glory to Hong Kong became hugely popular in the city.

It’s now all but illegal to sing the song or play its tune, under a sweeping national security law enacted to crush these protests.

© Agence France-Presse