HK uses national security laws to ban video game for first time

Hong Kong invoked national security laws to ban a video game for the first time, broadening the use of the set of legislation to fend off perceived threats and requiring internet service providers to comply.

- 

Police in the semiautonomous Chinese city warned residents on June 10 not to download Reversed Front: Bonfire, a Taiwanese-made mobile game they accuse of advocating armed revolution and overthrowing the government in Beijing. The authorities have taken "disabling action on electronic messages" related to the game, according to a government statement.

The move against the app marked the first known use of a 2020 Beijing-imposed national security law and local security legislation passed in 2024 to block a video game. The government previously asked Google to restrict access to a protest song, which the company initially resisted until an appeals court confirmed an injunction order.

Launched in April, the game was not available on Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store in Hong Kong as at the morning of June 11. Apple and Alphabet's Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.