Posting Porn Links Judged Unlawful in Hong Kong

A man has been fined 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (640 US dollars) for incorporating a pornographic link in an internet message in the first case of its kind in Hong Kong, a media report said Friday.

Woo Tai-wai, 48, pleaded guilty to publishing eight obscene photographs via a local internet forum in the first prosecution related to internet porn sites under the city’s obscene and indecent articles laws, the South China Morning Post reported.

A court in the Kwun Tong district of the city heard that Woo provided a hyperlinked message on the forum which, when clicked, would enable other forum users to access an overseas pornographic website showing the photos.

But Internet Society chairman Charles Mok Nai-kwong said the court case raised several concerns. ‘In this case, the court has given a new direction to the public concerning the responsibility of internet users,’ he said.

Mok added that he also believed the case could damage the freedom of information on the internet. ‘This man posted a link on the internet which now becomes an act that constitutes the breaking of law, and my question is whether a link is being regarded as the ‘obscene article,’’ he said.

Search engines, including Yahoo and Google, carry links to porn sites, he added.

‘In cases where search engines list out all the links to pornographic websites, is it justifiable to ask whether these would have to undergo censorship as they also provide these hyperlinks to obscene articles?’ he asked. FULL STORY

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