International Law

A fascinating story from the New York Times on online free speech in Hong Kong:

A series of arrests here for posting sexually explicit images of what appear to be some of Asia?s best-known pop stars has led to a division among Internet users over free speech, and questions of selective police enforcement of obscenity laws.

The police have arrested nine people in connection with photographs and videos on the Internet in the last two weeks. Three suspects have been formally charged, including a 24-year-old man in Kowloon who was charged Tuesday with publishing obscene materials after he was said to have posted two files containing 100 photos.

He did not enter a plea and was freed on bail of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,282). His lawyer declined to comment.

Some Web users here see the police action as an infringement on individual freedoms. They held a protest Sunday, arguing that, among other things, Hong Kong?s anti-pornography ordinance was too broad and too vague, and that this was a case of unequal treatment.

?On the Internet there are a lot of nude pictures and sexy photos, but the police don?t bring charges? except in the current case involving the singers, said Oiwan Lam, a local blogger who participated in the demonstration and edits inmediahk.net,   a citizen-reporter Web site.

Other users have been wary of casting the case as a free-speech issue, partly because they sense that the police crackdown may have strong public backing and partly because Hong Kong laws allow the police to prosecute people who distribute pornography.

Some say the backlash from the public could be worse than the crackdown by the police if Internet users oppose it too vocally.

Read more here.