During a trip to China you might just find yourself in
a digital detox but not by choice.
Some of the world's most popular apps and platforms are
completely blocked.
Facebook, Google, YouTube, Yahoo, Instagram, Snapchat,
Reddit. And it’s not just social media platforms and user
generated videos.
China’s internet restrictions are some of the most
sophisticated in the world.
Its far-reaching system not only blocks social media sites
and search engines but routinely blocks news websites too.
Apple’s iBooks and iTunes movie offerings have
also been shut down.
But LinkedIn is allowed.
Why? Some experts say it’s
because connecting China’s workforce
with the world can only help Chinese companies.
After all, they need to find foreign partners to import,
export, and even recruit foreign talent.
Plus political discourse doesn't typically take place
on LinkedIn and the company openly plays
by the rules in China.
Even creating a simplified Chinese version of its platform.
Restrictions in China are not loosening up as the world
becomes more interconnected online.
In fact, they’re likely to get even tighter for
the country’s 730 million internet users.
China’s President Xi Jinping recently issued tighter rules
for online news portals and network providers.
Through China’s Cyberspace Administration,
the government is overhauling its internet regulations
for the first time in over a decade with new mandates.
For example, you’ll need to obtain a license just to have
something like your own website, an app, forum, blog,
microblog or internet broadcast.
Now, earlier this year, China’s president said that
protectionism is like “locking oneself in a dark room.”
He said this in an effort to push Chinese leadership
on global trade.
But when it comes to internet access in China, that’s pretty
much what’s happening to a user...
locking oneself in a dark room.
Sort of.
China’s internet is more like an intranet -
a private network connected within an enterprise.
In fact, an estimated 96% of online traffic in China
goes to Chinese servers.
But in its effort to block outsiders -- many of China’s
homegrown companies are actually benefiting quite well.
Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba are not just some of China’s
biggest internet enterprises.
They’re some of the biggest in the world.
By blocking international rivals like Google, Facebook
and Amazon from the market,
the world’s most populous country is discouraging
competition and therefore helping its own companies.
And more and more people continue to log on in China.
Last year, the number of Chinese internet users
increased at the fastest pace in several years.
43 million new internet users came online
in China last year. That’s more than the entire
populations of Canada and Costa Rica combined.
Now of course many people access the internet anyway
through virtual private networks or VPN.
But China is cracking down, recently threatening to stop
illegal internet activity, and some local governments warn
they’ll impose heavy fines and are announcing vague
forms of punishment for breaking the law.
China has also introduced a new law requiring
both domestic and foreign internet companies to
practice censorship, register names of users, and even
aid in government surveillance.
But China isn't just censoring the internet to prevent
Western influences from sweeping through its country,
but also, to improve its own image.
The government says its initiatives will improve positive
propaganda and even strengthen supervision
over public opinion.
So if you're connected online in China there's really no
way of telling just how vast
your experience is being filtered.