Pacnet Refuses to Discuss its Censorship

First published: 30^th November 2008

Allan Dyer

To permit Pacnet a full and fair right to reply to my denouncement of their censorious Terms and Conditions, I emailed and called Pacnet, drawing their attention to the article and asking for their response. In a letter dated 05 November 2008, Pacnet responded:

Regarding your conversation with our Customer Service Officer Elaine Wong, we reiterate the points raised in our Mr. Johnny Cheung's letter dated 28 July 2008 (copy attached).

The email referred to says, as reported in the previous article, "Your comments on our T&C are well received and noted. Please kindly understand that the T&C is structured to strike a fair balance among the law, the customer's benefits as well as Pacnet's benefits."

It is clear that Pacnet is unwilling to discuss the powers of censorship their updated Terms and Conditions grab. They have made no justification for their stance, nor offered any counter-arguments to the criticisms I raised.

Pacnet have not even responded to my claim that my denouncement is in violation of their updated Terms and Conditions, and, therefore, if Pacnet think they apply, they should censor the article. Pacnet may be practising an insidious form of censorship: quietly intimidating those who can be easily frightened. Who has control over Pacnet's decisions?

In order to preserve the free flow of information and safeguard the freedom of expression enjoyed by Hong Kong people in the context of the internet, we need to ensure that ISPs in Hong Kong do not make arbitrary decisions about what content is acceptable or permitted. We have laws on public decency, copyright, and computer crime, and authorities to enforce those laws. ISPs should provide open communication for all legal content. We must ensure ISPs do not usurp the power of our courts and are not allowed to control what we see and say, whether that is for their commercial interests or hidden political purposes.