China’s Internet Crackdown

The signs of an internet crackdown in China were unmistakable. 

First, over the summer, Chinese authorities deleted foreign movies and TV shows, such as Saturday Night Live, from two popular video websites. Soon after, the messaging app WhatsApp was partly blocked by Chinese censors. Then, in November, the internet phone service Skype suddenly disappeared from download sites.

China, an authoritarian country where information is tightly controlled by the government, has long had an uneasy relationship with the internet. Recognizing its importance to the economy, officials haven’t entirely cut off access. Instead, China allows its citizens to go online, but with limits on what they can see and do.

Over the past several months, however, China has expanded its online censorship. Experts say the government fears that too much unfiltered information could lead to challenges for China’s one-party Communist system.

“It does appear the crackdown is becoming more intense,” says Emily Parker, an expert on the internet in China. “But the internet is also more powerful than it’s ever been.”

The signs of an internet crackdown in China were unmistakable.

It started over the summer. Chinese authorities deleted foreign movies and TV shows from two popular video websites. For example, they removed Saturday Night Live. Soon after, the messaging app WhatsApp was partly blocked by Chinese censors. Then, in November, the internet phone service Skype suddenly disappeared from download sites.

China is an authoritarian country where information is tightly controlled by the government. It has long had an uneasy relationship with the internet. Recognizing the internet’s importance to the economy, officials have not entirely cut off access. They do allow citizens to go online. But they limit what people can see and do.

This online censorship has been expanded over the past several months. Experts say the government is afraid that too much unfiltered information could lead to challenges for China’s one-party Communist system.

“It does appear the crackdown is becoming more intense,” says Emily Parker, an expert on the internet in China. “But the internet is also more powerful than it’s ever been.”

China has the world’s second- largest economy, after that of the United States. But it continues to clamp down on protest and deny basic freedoms to its 1.3 billion people. Criticism of the government isn’t tolerated, and people who speak out are routinely imprisoned.

The government’s authority extends to the internet. To control the web, China uses a system of filters and censors known as the Great Firewall. (The name refers to the Great Wall of China, an actual wall built centuries ago to keep out the nation’s northern enemies.) 

China has the world’s second-largest economy, after that of the United States. But it continues to clamp down on protest. It denies basic freedoms to its 1.3 billion people. Criticism of the government is not allowed. And people who speak out are often imprisoned.

The government’s authority extends to the internet. To control the web, China uses a system of filters and censors known as the Great Firewall. (The name refers to the Great Wall of China. That actual wall was built centuries ago to keep out the nation’s northern enemies.)

Tens of thousands of Chinese government censors monitor social media, blocking some sites altogether—especially ones that might include material critical of Chinese leaders. Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and many foreign news sites, such as The New York Times, have been blocked in China since 2015.

Tens of thousands of Chinese government censors monitor social media. They block some sites altogether, especially ones that might include material that criticizes Chinese leaders. Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have been blocked in China since 2015. So have many foreign news sites, such as The New York Times.

Experts say the most recent internet crackdown is part of an effort by President Xi Jinping to consolidate power in a way that no Chinese ruler has done in decades.

Since becoming president in 2012, Xi has seized greater control of China’s massive military and taken a more aggressive stand with smaller nations in the region. 

He has fired or jailed Chinese officials that he considers disloyal. Xi’s government is also demanding that loyalty to the Communist Party be a larger part of the curriculum in China’s 283,000 schools.

Experts say the most recent internet crackdown is part of an effort by President Xi Jinping to consolidate power. He is doing so in a way that no Chinese ruler has done in decades.

Since becoming president in 2012, Xi has seized greater control of China’s massive military. He also has taken a much tougher stand with smaller nations in the region.

Xi has fired or jailed Chinese officials he considers disloyal. His government is also demanding that loyalty to the Communist Party be a larger part of the curriculum in China’s 283,000 schools.

All of this has prompted people to make comparisons between Xi and China’s most infamous leader, Mao Zedong.

After leading China’s Communist revolution in 1949, Mao ruled with nearly unchecked authority until his death in 1976. He suppressed opposition and imprisoned or executed millions of his own people. 

But Mao came to power at a time when it was much easier to control the flow of information. Is that still possible when the internet provides instant access to the world?

All of this has prompted people to compare Xi with China’s most infamous leader, Mao Zedong.

Mao led China’s Communist revolution in 1949. Then he ruled with nearly unchecked authority until his death in 1976. He suppressed opposition and imprisoned or executed millions of his own people.

But Mao came to power at a time when it was much easier to control the flow of information. Is that still possible when the internet provides instant access to the world?

In a case that sent a warning to anyone who would dare to challenge the censors, a 26-year-old Chinese man was sentenced to nine months in jail last March for selling VPN software.

“What they’re worried about is people using the internet to organize,” says Parker. “They’re worried about hundreds of thousands of people saying, ‘Let’s get together and protest.’”

Perhaps that’s why officials seem so sensitive to any online criticism of President Xi, no matter how silly. The government recently blocked all images and comments about Winnie the Pooh after some bloggers compared Xi’s appearance to the pudgy children’s book character.

Last March, a 26-year-old Chinese man was sentenced to nine months in jail for selling VPN software. The case sent a warning to anyone who would dare to challenge the censors.

“What they’re worried about is people using the internet to organize,” says Parker. “They’re worried about hundreds of thousands of people saying, ‘Let’s get together and protest.’”

Perhaps that is why officials seem so sensitive to any online criticism of President Xi, no matter how silly. For example, the government recently blocked all images and comments about Winnie the Pooh. Some bloggers had compared Xi’s appearance to the pudgy children’s book character.

Politically repressive governments have always been wary of new technologies that give people ways to push back against tyranny. In the 18th century, for example, the printing press was a key factor in the American Revolution, allowing writers to stir up unrest by distributing anti-British pamphlets. 

During the Cold War (1945-1991), Communist governments in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and China feared that news from the outside world would spread ideas of freedom. They kept their citizens in the dark by censoring newspapers and TV broadcasts.

Politically repressive governments have always been wary of new technologies that give people ways to push back against tyranny. In the 18th century, for example, the printing press was a key factor in the American Revolution. It allowed writers to stir up unrest by distributing anti-British pamphlets.

During the Cold War (1945-1991), Communist governments in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and China feared that news from the outside world would spread ideas of freedom. So they kept their citizens in the dark. They censored newspapers and TV broadcasts.

But the internet, which spreads information at lightning speed, is much harder to control. During the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East, protesters used social media to organize demonstrations against oppressive leaders—and draw the world’s attention. Later that year in Egypt, officials shut down the entire country’s internet for five days to thwart protesters.

But the internet is much harder to control. It spreads information at lightning speed. During the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East, protesters used social media to organize demonstrations against oppressive leaders. They also used it to draw the world’s attention. Later that year in Egypt, officials shut down the entire country’s internet for five days to thwart protesters.

Why hasn’t China simply blocked all access to the web? Doing so would cause major damage to its booming economy. China’s factories export products like electronics and clothing worldwide—and its companies need the web to do business. 

Still, officials have found ways to keep out unwanted viewpoints. China has forced several video-streaming sites to remove most of their American, British, Japanese, and South Korean TV shows and movies. (The Big Bang Theory was banned in 2014 for reasons that were never explained. Now the show appears online only after censors review each episode.) 

The government has also shut down celebrity gossip websites in a push for what it called a “healthy, uplifting environment” online.

Why hasn’t China simply blocked all access to the web? Doing so would cause major damage to its booming economy. China’s factories export products like electronics and clothing worldwide. Its companies need the web to do business.

Still, officials have found ways to keep out unwanted viewpoints. China has forced several video-streaming sites to remove most of their American, British, Japanese, and South Korean TV shows and movies. (The Big Bang Theory was banned in 2014 for reasons that were never explained. Now the show appears online only after censors review each episode.)

The government has also shut down celebrity gossip websites. It is pushing for what it called a “healthy, uplifting environment” online.

In a game of cat and mouse, some Chinese have still found ways around the censorship, only to have the government respond with new screening methods.

For example, China’s censors traditionally used word-screening software to identify objectionable content on social media. This spurred people to use photos or videos—rather than words—to send messages. In response, cyber police seem to have developed the ability to delete photos from social media chats in real time as they’re being transmitted. 

This suggests the government has created more sophisticated software to do this screening, rather than simply relying on human censors. 

“If you hire a million network police, it still wouldn’t be enough to filter 1.3 billion people’s messages,” Bao Pu, a Hong Kong-based publisher, told The Wall Street Journal. “But if you have a machine doing it, it can instantly block everything.”

Yet as China’s population becomes increasingly tech savvy, some experts wonder whether the government’s attempt to control the web can ultimately succeed. 

“That’s the million-dollar question,” says Parker. “I think China is cracking down on the internet because they understand how powerful—and how potentially threatening—it is.”

With reporting by The New York Times

Some Chinese still find ways around the censorship. But then the government responds with new screening methods. It is like a game of cat and mouse.

For example, China’s censors traditionally used word-screening software to identify objectionable content on social media. So people stopped using words to send messages. They used photos or videos instead. But in response, cyber police seem to have come up with a way to delete photos from social media chats in real time as they’re being transmitted.

This suggests the government has created sophisticated software to do this screening. They don’t simply rely on human censors.

“If you hire a million network police, it still wouldn’t be enough to filter 1.3 billion people’s messages,” Bao Pu, a Hong Kong-based publisher, told The Wall Street Journal. “But if you have a machine doing it, it can instantly block everything.”

Yet China’s population is becoming increasingly tech savvy. So some experts wonder whether the government’s attempt to control the web can ultimately succeed.

“That’s the million-dollar question,” says Parker. “I think China is cracking down on the internet because they understand how powerful—and how potentially threatening—it is.”

With reporting by The New York Times