A Hong Kong court allowed the government to ban a popular protest song when used with criminal intent, a move likely to fan fears about diminished free speech in the city.

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday overturned a lower court’s decision to deny the government’s request to issue an injunction to prohibit Glory to Hong Kong for national security reasons. The Court of First Instance cited the potential chilling effects of such a ban in its July ruling.

The decision could further spook a business community worried about erosion of freedoms in the city. The Hong Kong government has taken wide-ranging measures to stifle dissent, including making a new domestic security law that brought Hong Kong in line with China’s vague legislation around state secrets and espionage.

The song Glory to Hong Kong was popularised during anti-government protests in 2019. Authorities applied for an injunction to make it illegal for anyone with criminal intent to perform or broadcast the song, including the lyrics and melody, on grounds of national security.

After the court rejected its bid in July 2023, the government subsequently challenged that decision.

The appeal court acknowledged it had a duty to ensure the injunction doesn’t violate the right to free expression, but it deemed the order justified.

Free speech “is not a licence to commit any criminal offence,” the judgment said.

“We accept the assessment of the executive that prosecutions alone are clearly not adequate to tackle the acute criminal problems and that there is a compelling need for an injunction, as a counter-measure, to aid the criminal law for safeguarding national security,” the court’s judges wrote.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether internet firms such as Google would need to take action to comply with the ruling in Hong Kong. Many Silicon Valley tech giants already quit the mainland Chinese market years ago due to onerous censorship demands.

The Hong Kong government has chalked up a string of legal victories against publishers and journalists accused of endangering Chinese national security, posing a chilling effect on a once-freewheeling global commercial hub.

Hong Kong has been grappling with a talent exodus and stock market rout in the past few years, compounded by issues including the city’s strict Covid curbs, civil-liberty crackdown, as well as China’s economic downturn. Efforts to fast-track into law a domestic national security legislation in March also spooked investors.

  - Bloomberg