Photo: IC

Facebook, which has lent a sympathetic ear to rumors messing up Hong Kong, has again spawned controversy. The powerful social media platform has repeatedly suspended the page of Dot Dot News, a news agency officially registered with the Information Services Department of the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Besides, Facebook also suspended 10 of Hong Kong police's anti-violence WhatsApp hotlines set up in wake of the unrest. The cyberspace, represented by Western social media, is gradually becoming the core arena that disturbs Hong Kong's order.

Dot Dot News brings real and reliable news to readers. It supports the Hong Kong police to strictly enforce the law and restore social order. But Dot Dot News has been blocked by Facebook out of malice just because it has taken a stance against the rioters. Recently, Facebook and other Western social media platforms not only allowed extreme Hong Kong opposition to mobilize online, but also let them leak the personal information of Hong Kong police officers and their family members. In such cyberbullying, even fake photos and fixed text are used to mislead media across the world.

Meanwhile, some local or international media, such as the Hong Kong Free Press, BBC News and The New York Times, use the so-called facts provided by rioters on social media as sources to publish purportedly objective and neutral reports. This further strengthens the man-made information cocoons. These platforms and media have been giving vent to their anxiety and frustration caused by China's rise. Besides, they willingly support the rioters, damaging Hong Kong's security, stability and prosperity and threatening China's security.

There is sufficient evidence to show that the Facebook management has given its back to Hong Kong rioters. By abruptly deleting all the accounts that systematically stated the facts, Facebook tried to reshape and maintain a specific order. The act had nothing to do with professionalism and was only meant to serve political ends. Facebook must be aware that it is acting against China in cyberspace.

There are ideological and political reasons behind what Facebook has done. But the main reason is that on the one hand, Facebook and other platforms can continue the information war against Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland and delete the accounts that tell the truth; on the other, Facebook can keep earning advertising revenue from Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. It is obvious that Facebook and other enterprises enjoy damaging China's reputation and benefiting from the country at the same time.

It is obviously problematic if the situation does not change. An enterprise that adopts such hostile policies and wantonly uses its monopoly to threaten other countries' national security is unreliable for China and any other country. 

Such an entity should be punished and reined in until it changes. 

The author is director at the Research Center for Cyberspace Governance, Fudan University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn