Facebook won’t turn over Hong Kong user data

Facebook and its messaging service WhatsApp will temporarily stop processing Hong Kong government requests for user data while it reviews the national security law imposed by Beijing.

The company said it would consult human rights experts to assess the law. The decision is a rare questioning of Chinese policy by an American internet company, and it gets at the question of how the security law will apply online.

Telegram, a messaging app popular with Hong Kong’s protesters, said on Sunday that it would refuse requests from Hong Kong authorities for user data until an international consensus was reached on the changes in the city.

What’s next: Facebook’s move puts pressure on other tech giants like Apple, Google and Twitter, to clarify how they will deal with the Hong Kong security law.