Jesse Spencer, April 2008, Prepared for “Information Network Applications,” University of Tennessee School of Information Sciences
China’s internet security measures constitute different degrees of censorship. The communist government has a track record of suppressing information deemed harmful to the country. In recent years, China has started engaging in high-profile cultural relationships with the rest of the world, such as the 2008 Olympic Games at Beijing. Internet access is necessary for interaction on a global scale. China has drawn much criticism for continuing to block communication within its borders. In this article, internet security actions taken by the government – such as the Great Firewall of China and a virtual police force – will be described as different forms of censorship. After discussing the importance of this problem, specific procedures will be summarized and discussed in the context of intellectual freedom and censorship as defined by the American Library Association (ALA).
| “Intellectual freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause, or movement may be explored.” |
| American Library Association, Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q & A, 2007 |
| “Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain persons—individuals, groups or government officials—find objectionable or dangerous...” |
| American Library Association, Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q & A, 2007 |
The Chinese government employs forceful methods of censoring information to protect national security. Though officials stated that government would remove “restrictions on foreign correspondents and local reporters … At present, 29 journalists are incarcerated, the highest number for any country in the world, according to Paul E. Steiger, chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Board of Directors.”1 The police in Tengzhou interrogated and beat detained journalist Qi Chonghua, who was arrested for “writing about government corruption and sensitive topics as displacement of peasants and the environment.”2 The serious nature of human rights violations necessitates China’s need to limit as much media access as possible to this type of information.
In this respect, the Internet represents a big problem in that it creates an increasing number of channels of information whose creators are sometimes difficult to determine or control. Chinese police officials state that the widespread acts of “theft, fraud, gambling, [and] … the spread of pornography” on the internet are the result of criminals’ reliance on anonymity as protection..”3
China’s restriction of information on the internet poses a significant world-wide problem for intellectual freedom. China represents one of the largest and fastest growing communities of internet users. At the AdAgeChina Digital Marketing Conference on December 6, 2007, speakers stated that “[t]he country has 500 million mobile-phone subscribers and more than 122 broadband users, said speakers ... on Dec. 6.”4 To take advantage of this emerging consumer population, major companies such as Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Cisco expanded operations to include China. However, these opportunities come with a requirement to submit to the demands of the Chinese government to limit privacy on the Web. To launch its Google.cn Website, Google compromised its ethical commandment, “Don’t be evil,” and its commitment to serve users by agreeing to China’s demands for censorship..”5
However, the services offered by Google, such as Gmail, search engine technology, and YouTube, lay the groundwork for individuals to communicate and exchange ideas regardless of nationality.
One serious consequence of China’s actions is the concealment of information related to diseases. The internet provides a platform for resources, such as Websites, news publications, blogs, email, and bulletin boards. This communication brings the world together to establish a dialogue for information sharing that can provide valuable services, such as the prevention of the spread of disease. “During the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, there were numerous reports of Internet-based monitoring of the disease and rapid dissemination of scientific information via academic online publishing. Absent from this global flow of information was China, where SARS originated.”6
Freedom of information disseminated online has not been embraced by the Communist Party in China. Like nations such as Myanmar, Saudi Arabia and Iran, China initially saw the internet as a weapon for those who threaten its political and social order.7 The Chinese government utilizes many methods of protecting national interests such as security.
1. “China: Media Still Facing Restrictions,” Global Journalist, 13, no. 4 (2007) : 5-6. Back
3. Zhang Fang, “China’s Virtual Police Force,” Global Journalist, 13, no. 4 (2007) : 28-29. Back
4. Laurel Wentz, “China on cusp of digital explosion,” Advertising Age, 78, no. 49 (12 December 2007) : 4. Back
5. Google sells out on way to China,” Advertising Age, 77, no. 8 (20 April 2006) : 11. Back
6. “Information Control in Time of Crisis: The Framing of SARA in China-based Newspapers and Internet sources,” Conference paper, International Communications Association – Communication & Technology Division, (1 November 2006) : 2. Back
7. Assafa Endeshaw, “Internet Regulation in China: The Never-ending Cat and Mouse Game,” Information & Communications Technology Law, 13, no. 1 (2004) : 41. Back