Monday, April 8, 2013

China's Internet: A Giant Cage

This article discusses ways the Chinese government has attempted to regulate the internet. While such control seems impossible, the Chinese have achieved surprising levels of success through many expensive, focused efforts. Many local companies (and foreign companies) have worked together with the government and cooperated in acts of censorship. As we mentioned in class, Google searches within China about the 'Tiananmen Square Massacre' are either blocked or removed. Cyber-hackers have also received unofficial support from the government, even destabilizing networks within the United States.

http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21574628-internet-was-expected-help-democratise-china-instead-it-has-enabled

How long will the government's control over the internet last? Is there any potential for the internet to foment democratic political change within China, similar to the role of social media in the Arab Spring protests?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

It does seem that China has misused their regulation of the internet in terms of how the west would judge their use. While I believe they should have sovereignty over regulating their internet in their country, their support of cyberhackers is particularly troubling and should be condemned by the rest of the world

iceiceice said...

The Chinese has been magnificent in creating their own internet community. The government has done very well in controlling online information. Even though I don't agree with Chinese government supporting cyber-hackers, I have to admit the way their government monitor the Internet is a good lesson and also a warning to other countries, especially the U.S. Not only it affects the economy, it also affects politics and the relationship of the two countries.