Internet Regulation in China

This article from the New York Times discusses the many Internet restrictions placed on those who live in China. I think it is important to look at other countries’ policies concerning government regulation of the Internet to be able to view America’s policies from a more informed and worldly perspective. In China every Internet user is required to submit their legal name to their Internet service provider, specifically cellphones companies that provide mobile Internet access, to improve the Internet service provider’s ability to report crimes to the government. Citizens are frequently detained or jailed for discussing multiparty democracy on microblogs similar to Twitter. Access to websites from other countries is often blocked.

This article from Reporters Without Borders also discusses the intense control of the Internet by the Chinese government.    In 2012 China implemented a “communications blackout” in Tibet to prevent media coverage of the protests there. China cut off Internet connections in that area and was highly focused on removing Internet content related to the protests. According to Reporters Without Borders, the Chinese authorities frequently cut off certain regions Internet access as a strategy to “subdue them in silence.”  In 2012 Chinese Internet users were not able to search the web for the word “occupy” followed by the name of a Chinese city.

This article from USA Today also discusses the “stifling, bizarre, and sometimes dangerous world of Internet censorship in China.” If you are on the Internet in China and search “persecution,” “Tibetan independence,” or “democracy movements” you will only be taken to a black page that says, “page cannot be displayed.” Because of their strict rules regarding the Internet and anti-government talk dozens of “cyberdissidents” are jailed every year in China.

These are two comics depicting the Chinese Firewall, an Internet network security system. The first comic shows dozens of Internet users getting nothing but “walls” on their computers. In China so many topics and pages are blocked that citizens likely see the blank page very often, making browsing and research likely very frustrating and difficult.

The second comic shows a tour being given during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Instead of the Great Wall of China, tourists are shown “the Great Firewall of China.” The wall shows sites that “cannot be displayed” such as humanrights.org and tibet.com.

It is easy to become frustrated with American Internet regulation, but when compared to other countries such as China it is clear that we take many rights for granted here.  Though our Internet is clearly not as heavily controlled as China’s, we still must take steps to promote Internet freedom and privacy in the United States.