briefs package

Walt Disney’s new Disney+ streaming app was downloaded more than half a million times over the weekend after the service’s July 3 premiere of a filmed version of the musical “Hamilton.”

The $7-a-month Disney+ generated 513,323 new mobile downloads worldwide from Friday to Sunday, including 266,084 in the U.S., according to the market research firm Apptopia. The global numbers are 47% higher than the average weekend in June, while the domestic results were 72% greater.

Disney paid a reported $75 million for the film, which was shot with the original cast in 2016.

Facebook unsure about Hong Kong

Facebook and its private messaging service WhatsApp, as well as Twitter, will stop reviewing requests from Hong Kong for user data while the companies evaluate a new national security law imposed on the city by the Chinese government.

The new national security law was revealed at the end of June and has already had a chilling effect on the city that has long been a haven for more open free speech and internet access than mainland China. People in Hong Kong have started deleting their social media accounts and an upstart political party disbanded. The law gives Beijing wide reach to crack down on those in Hong Kong who criticize its government.

From wire reports