RSF Report on Chinese Internet Censorship
By Curt on Oct 12, 2007 in Filtering, China's Internet cops, China, Censorship
Reporters Without Borders has released a detailed 17-page .pdf report on Chinese Internet censorship efforts. (via Google Blogoscoped - thanks, Marshall)
“The government monitors the Internet by means of a skilful mix of filtering technologies, cyberpolice surveillance and propaganda, in all of which China invests massively,” the report says. It then details intersecting lines of authority that help to keep the Chinese Internet a less than open environment. The fascinating aspect of this story is the banality of it all. The most populous country in the world is kept in halter by the use of weekly meetings between departments and ministries and memos issued to Internet companies.
It makes an afternoon trip to the Internal Revenue Service or the Department of Motor Vehicles seem like a burst of song in comparison.
Another element of interest is the cooperation of an anonymous Internet company. It’s great that one is helping in this report. It would be of greater utility were this company and is competitors willing to speak out publicly and band together to push back against the censorship trend.
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