MOUNTAIN VIEW/HONG KONG, May 14 (Reuters) - Alphabet's

YouTube on Tuesday said it would comply with a court

decision and block access inside Hong Kong to 32 video links

deemed prohibited content, in what critics say is a blow to

freedoms in the financial hub amid a security clampdown.

The action follows a government application granted by Hong

Kong's Court of Appeal requesting the ban of a protest anthem

called "Glory to Hong Kong." The judges warned that dissidents

seeking to incite secession could weaponize the song for use

against the state.

In comments criticizing the court order, YouTube said the

ruling would raise skepticism around the Hong Kong government's

work to foster the digital economy and reclaim its reputation as

a predictable place for doing business.

"We are disappointed by the Court's decision but are

complying with its removal order," YouTube said in a statement,

saying it shared human rights groups' concerns that the content

ban could chill free expression online. "We'll continue to

consider our options for an appeal, to promote access to

information."

Some observers, including the U.S. government, say the ban

will further undermine Hong Kong's international reputation as a

financial hub, and raise concerns about the erosion of freedoms

and its commitment to the free flow of information.

"It is not a desirable situation from the perspective of

free internet and free speech," said George Chen, co-chair of

digital practice at the Asia Group, a Washington DC-based

business policy consultancy. He is also former head of public

policy for Greater China at Meta.

"Now the question is how far and how aggressive the

government wants to go," Chen added. "If you start to send

platforms 100 or 1,000 links for takedown every day, this will

drive platforms crazy and also make global investors more

worried about Hong Kong's free market environment. How

predictable and how stable the policy environment is matters a

lot to foreign investors, and Hong Kong is now at a crossroads

to defend its reputation."

Industry groups, including the Asia Internet Coalition,

which represents big tech firms like Meta, Apple and Google,

have said keeping a free and open internet in Hong Kong is

"fundamental" to maintaining the city's edge.

The Hong Kong government did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.

The action is not a worldwide first for the U.S. technology

sector or Google parent Alphabet, which has restricted items

when legally required to do so. In China, it has removed

content.

A spokesperson for YouTube, part of Mountain View-based

Alphabet in California, said the geoblocking of videos would

take effect immediately for viewers in Hong Kong.

Eventually, links to the videos will no longer show up on

Google Search in Hong Kong as the company's systems process the

changes, YouTube said. Attempts to view the song on YouTube from

Hong Kong displayed the message: "This content is not available

on this country domain due to a court order."

Hong Kong does not have an official anthem. "Glory to

Hong Kong" was written in 2019 during widespread pro-democracy

protests that year, becoming an unofficial alternative anthem to

China's "March of the Volunteers."

In recent years, Hong Kong officials have been

sanctioned by the U.S. government for a sweeping national

security crackdown on dissent that has seen many opposition

democrats jailed and liberal media outlets and civil society

groups shuttered.

The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in

1997 with a guarantee that its freedoms would be preserved under

a "one country, two systems" formula.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman has said that

stopping the song's spread was necessary for Hong Kong to

safeguard national security.