ズームの「言論の自由」に懸念、「天安門事件」会議でアカウント一時停止

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】ビデオ会議サービス「ズーム」は10日、中国の天安門広場で多数の民主化活動家が死傷した1989年6月4日の天安門事件を振り返るビデオ会議を開いた米人権団体のアカウントを一時的に停止していたことを明らかにした。新型コロナウイルスが流行する中で利用者が急増しているズームでの言論の自由が守られるのか、警戒する声が上がっている。（写真は資料写真）
　米人権団体「人道主義中国」が天安門事件に関するビデオ会議をズームで行い、２５０人以上が参加した。同団体によると、天安門事件の記憶を消し去ろうとしている中国からも多数が参加した。その１週間後に同団体の有料アカウントが何の説明もなく停止されたという。
　この件は米ニュースサイト「アクシオス」が最初に報じた。
　同団体の共同設立者で天安門事件後に中国当局から指名手配された当時の学生リーダーの一人、周鋒鎖氏はＡＦＰに対し、問題のアカウントは１０日に復旧したと明らかにした。
　ズームも、このアカウントを一時停止し、すでに復旧させたことを認めた。ズームの広報担当者は、「どのグローバル企業とも同様に、当社も事業を行っている国や地域の法律に従わなければならない。会議が複数の国にまたがって行われる場合は、各参加者はそれぞれの国の法令に従うことが求められる」 「当社は、各地の法令を順守するために取る措置に限度を設けることを目指しており、こういった問題に関係するプロセスを常に見直し、改善している」と述べた。
　影響を受けた人権活動家らは、ズームが中国共産党指導部から直接圧力を受けた可能性があると怒りをあらわにしている。人道主義中国は、「もしそうなら、ズームは独裁的政府と共謀して天安門虐殺の記憶を消そうとしていることになる」とする声明を発表した。同団体は、厳しい検閲が行われている中国にいる人たちと連絡を取る上でズームは「不可欠」なものだとしている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/06/11-13:13）

Zoom said Wednesday that it had temporarily closed a US account of activists who met to mark the anniversary of China's crackdown in Tiananmen Square, raising alarm over free speech on the fast-growing video-meeting service.
US-based rights campaigners turned to Zoom, which has become a way of life for many people during the coronavirus lockdown, to connect more than 250 people to remember Beijing's crushing of the pro-democracy uprising on June 4, 1989.
The group Humanitarian China said it had brought in numerous participants from inside China, which has tried to erase memories of the bloodshed -- and that its paid Zoom account was shut down without explanation one week later.
The shutdown was first reported by news site Axios.
Zhou Fengsuo, a co-founder of the group who was number one on Beijing's most-wanted list after the Tiananmen crackdown, told AFP that the Zoom account was reactivated on Wednesday.
Zoom acknowledged that it had shut down and restored the account after the attention.
Just like any global company, we must comply with applicable laws in the jurisdictions where we operate, a Zoom spokesperson said.
When a meeting is held across different countries, the participants within those countries are required to comply with their respective local laws.
We aim to limit the actions we take to those necessary to comply with local law and continuously review and improve our process on these matters.
The activists voiced outrage, charging that the company may have been under direct pressure from China's communist leaders.
If so, Zoom is complicit in erasing the memories of the Tiananmen Massacre in collaboration with an authoritarian government, Humanitarian China said in a statement.
It called Zoom an essential resource in reaching audiences inside China, which rigorously enforces censorship.
- Long dilemma for US tech -
Zoom reported Tuesday that its earnings had soared in the quarter ending April 30 as both companies and friends, cooped up inside due to COVID-19 lockdowns, embrace the platform to meet virtually.
Its rapid growth has not been without previous problems, with the company forced to confront a rash of racists and other unwelcome gatecrashers who hack into Zoom sessions.
Beijing has developed a sophisticated Great Firewall that aims to keep out news that is damaging to the leadership.
Authorities go to extraordinary lengths each year to ban commemorations of the Tiananmen crackdown, in which the military killed hundreds of unarmed protesters -- by some estimates, more than 1,000 -- who had packed the capital to seek reform.
PEN America, the literary group that defends free speech, denounced Zoom's move.
We wouldn't tolerate it if a phone company cut off service for someone expressing their views in a conference call; we shouldn't tolerate it in the digital space either, said the group's CEO, Suzanne Nossel.
Zoom portends to be the platform of choice for companies, school systems and a wide range of organizations that need a virtual way to communicate, especially amid global lockdown. But it can't serve that role and act as the long arm of the Chinese government, she said.
With its alluring market, China has long been problematic for US tech giants that generally boast of allowing unfettered free speech at home.
Apple in 2017 acknowledged that it bowed to Chinese law by removing apps for VPNs, or virtual private networks, that let its users evade local controls.
A decade earlier, Yahoo faced intense criticism and conceded wrongdoing after helping Chinese officials identify pro-democracy advocates who posted on online message boards.