Censorship Laws and Practices in China Essay -- Internet Cyberspace Ce

Censorship Laws and Practices in China Introduction China joined the global Internet age in 1994, and has been commercially available since 1995. Since then, Chinese Internet usage has seen explosive growth, doubling every six months, and the number of online users is only second to the US. The Internet age ushered in the information age with a new world of freedom and expression for the Chinese. However, soon after its inception, the Chinese government has reined in the free wheeling Internet users and has imposed new laws and restrictions to access and content on the Internet. It is interesting to note that some of the new Internet regulations contradict International Laws signed by the Chinese government. China signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1998 that states that â€Å"Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print†¦or through any other media of his choice†. Overview of China’s Internet Censorship Practices Since the internet's inception in China, regulations have been in place in order to protect â€Å"state secrets†. The first such law was the â€Å"Safety and Protection Regulations for Computer Information Systems†1 put into place in 1994. This law opened the door for monitoring of Internet usage for criminal and other activities. In 1997, the â€Å"Computer Information Network and Internet Security, Protection and Management Regulations† strengthened the monitoring by requiring all Internet Service Providers in China to turn over monthly Internet traffic data to government’s Public Security Bureau. The new millennium ushe... ...lobal: Censorship On The Rise- Freedom House Study Finds More Government Efforts To Curb The Net http://www.itaa.org/isec/pubs/e20007-5.pdf 6.Rights & Democracy- Review of China's Internet Regulations and Domestic Legislation http://www.ichrdd.ca/english/commdoc/publications/globalization/legislationInternetChinaEng.pdf 7.A Gift of Fire, A: Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues in Computing, by Sara Baase 8.Internet Privacy http://www.e-businessethics.com/internet.htm 9.China's Cyberwall Nearly Concrete http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,56195,00.html 10.Chilling Effects of Anti-Terrorism http://www.eff.org/Censorship/Terrorism_militias/antiterrorism_chill.html 11.Control of the Internet in China, by Keasha Martindill, November 2013 http://journalism.berkeley.edu/projects/chinadn/en/archives/Control%20of%20the%20Internet%20in%20China.doc