YouTube blocked the account of Hong Kong’s sole leadership candidate John Lee on Wednesday because of U.S. sanctions against him, while Facebook owner Meta said he could keep his account but not use payment services.
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The move, which has no bearing on his chances of winning office, follows the imposition of U.S. sanctions on Lee and other Hong Kong and Chinese officials in 2020 over what Washington said was their role in curbing the city’s freedoms under a national security law Beijing imposed in June that year.
Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), which owns YouTube, said it had taken down Lee’s campaign account to comply with U.S. sanction laws as Hong Kong’s former security chief and No. 2 official prepares for a leadership election on May 8.
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“Google complies with applicable U.S. sanctions laws and enforces related policies under its terms of service. After review and consistent with these policies, we terminated the Johnlee2022 YouTube channel,” the company said in an email response to Reuters.
Separately, Facebook owner Meta Platforms (FB.O) said that while Lee can keep “demonetized presences” on Facebook and Instagram, it had taken steps to prevent use of payments services. Lee’s Facebook page was still visible on Wednesday.
Lee, a former deputy police commissioner, said the block would not affect his unchallenged campaign bid to lead Hong Kong for the next five years.
“Those so-called sanctions on me are unreasonable, are bullying, are intentionally pressuring, trying to force me to be hesitant. But as I’ve repeatedly stressed, this unreasonable behaviour will only make me convinced that I’m doing the right thing,” Lee told a media briefing.
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