Internet censorship in China

This article is about Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China. For Internet censorship in the Republic of China, see Censorship in Taiwan § Internet censorship in Taiwan.
See also: Mass surveillance in China

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China censors both the publishing and viewing of online material. Many controversial events are censored from news coverage, preventing many Chinese citizens from knowing about the actions of their government, and severely restricting freedom of the press.[1] China's censorship includes the complete blockage of various websites, apps, and video games, inspiring the policy's nickname, the Great Firewall of China (simplified Chinese: 防火长城; traditional Chinese: 防火長城; pinyin: Fánghuǒ Chángchéng),[2] which blocks websites. Methods used to block websites and pages include DNS spoofing, blocking access to IP addresses, analyzing and filtering URLs, packet inspection, and resetting connections.[3]

The government blocks website content and monitors Internet access.[4] As required by the government, major Internet platforms in China have established elaborate self-censorship mechanisms as well as implementing a real-name system. As of 2019, more than sixty online restrictions had been created by the Government of China and implemented by provincial branches of state-owned ISPs, companies and organizations.[5][6][7] Some companies hire teams and invest in powerful artificial intelligence algorithms to police and remove illegal online content.[8] Despite restrictions, all websites except TikTok can still be accessible to Chinese users by using VPNs, which are currently heavily restricted but not banned due to them often being used for business purposes.[9]

Amnesty International states that China has "the largest recorded number of imprisoned journalists and cyber-dissidents in the world"[10] and Reporters Without Borders stated in 2010 and 2012 that "China is the world's biggest prison for netizens."[11][12] Freedom House rated China "Not Free" in the Freedom on the Net 2023 report.[13]

Commonly alleged user offenses include communicating with organized groups abroad, signing controversial online petitions, and forcibly calling for government reform. The government has escalated its efforts to reduce coverage and commentary that is critical of the regime after a series of large anti-pollution and anti-corruption protests. Many of these protests were organized or publicized using instant messaging services, chat rooms, and text messages.[14] China's Internet police force was reported by official state media to be 2 million strong in 2013.[15]

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and in the name of combating disinformation following the death of Liu Xuezhou[citation needed], several Chinese social platforms announced that they would display user locations based on internet protocol (IP) addresses. These platforms include Quora-like Zhihu, the domestic version of TikTok, Douyin, and video streaming platform Bilibili.[16] The platforms display the province for users located in China or the country or region if the IP address of the user is located overseas. Users cannot disable this feature.[17][18]

China's special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau are outside the Great Firewall.[19] However, it was reported that the central government authorities have been closely monitoring Internet use in these regions (see Internet censorship in Hong Kong).[20]

  1. ^ "Media Censorship in China". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ^ Guo, Steve; Feng, Guangchao (1 March 2012). "Understanding Support for Internet Censorship in China: An Elaboration of the Theory of Reasoned Action". Journal of Chinese Political Science. 17 (1): 33–52. doi:10.1007/s11366-011-9177-8. ISSN 1874-6357. S2CID 143709885. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  3. ^ Hoffman, Chris (10 September 2017). "How the "Great Firewall of China" Works to Censor China's Internet". howtogeek.com. How to geek. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  4. ^ "Internet censorship in China – CNN iReport". Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  5. ^ "II. How Censorship Works in China: A Brief Overview". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2006.
  6. ^ "Chinese Laws and Regulations Regarding Internet". Chinaeclaw.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  7. ^ "全面实名后还有隐私吗——中国网民看"网络实名制"" (in Chinese). BBC News. 1 June 2017. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  8. ^ Yuan, Li (2 January 2019). "Learning China's Forbidden History, So They Can Censor It". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Are VPNs Legal? The Worldwide Guide – Forbes Advisor". www.forbes.com. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  10. ^ "Background: Firewall of Shame" Archived 17 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine , Global Internet Freedom Consortium, 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  11. ^ "Inside China" Archived 26 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine , Miles Yu, Washington Times, 8 February 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  12. ^ "2012 Internet Enemies: China" Archived 19 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine , Reporters Without Borders, 12 March 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  13. ^ "Freedom on the Net 2023 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  14. ^ "China's Internet Users Go Mobile". 21 July 2012. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  15. ^ "China employs two million microblog monitors state media say". BBC News. 4 October 2013. Archived from the original on 9 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  16. ^ "Bilibili Begins Displaying Users' IP Location". 25 July 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Chinese social media to display user locations based on IP address, including platforms from ByteDance and Zhihu". 17 April 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  18. ^ "China's internet platforms are revealing user location—and embarrassing nationalist bloggers". 12 May 2022. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  19. ^ "Can Netflix expand into China's censored media market?". Newsweek. 27 August 2016. Archived from the original on 8 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  20. ^ "China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau) – Hong Kong". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2018.