HK IT professionals preserve Apple Daily content on blockchain platforms

Hong Kong IT professionals seem to be backing up Apple Daily's articles on censorship-proof blockchain platforms after it was forced to cease operation yesterday, according to multiple reports. The South China Morning Postsaid that a group of IT professionals were spending a lot of time discussing the most efficient ways to archive millions of web pages and videos of Apple Daily before it shut down. 

According to reports, there is also a Google Sheet directing netizens to separate archives of thousands of local news stories published by its sister publication Next Magazine. It is said that these IT professionals and cyber activists used overseas servers to display the content in different formats and across different periods.  The report from SCMP also said that there were four digital achieves online, as anonymous internet users kept uploading a large amount of content from Apple Daily published over more than two decades. 

Meanwhile, this year, the company that approves internet domains in Hong Kong said it would reject any sites that could incite illegal acts. Internet service provider Hong Kong Broadband Network said it had blocked access to HKChronicles, a website offering information about anti-government protests.

However, the Hong Kong government reassured the public that the use of the internet will not be affected as long as it is within the law. It elaborated that law enforcement actions were based on evidence, strictly according to the laws of Hong Kong.

This is not the first that Hong Kong netizens have turned to the internet to upload and back up content online. Previously, documentaries by local broadcaster RTHK was also uploaded after the media outlet said it would remove materials older than one year from its social media platforms. 

The move by Hong Kong IT professionals comes as the newspaper printed its last edition yesterday. 

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