A different vision of openness: The Chinese Internet

Adifferentvisionofopenness:TheChineseInternet

ShirleyHung

TalkpreparedforCommunica7onsFuturesProgram

May4,2011

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• China’svisionoftheInternetandopenness

• Structureofcontrol

• Ver?calintegra?onofcontrol

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Freedomofspeechisimportanttoeveryone…

TheWestconsidersfreedomofspeechauniversalright• “Everyonehastherighttofreedomofopinionandexpression;this

rightincludesfreedomtoholdopinionswithoutinterferenceandtoseek,receiveandimpartinforma7onandideasthroughanymediaandregardlessoffron7ers.”–UNUniversalDeclara7onofHumanRights

TheChineseCons7tu7onguaranteesfreedomofspeech,too• “Ci7zensofthePeople'sRepublicofChinaenjoyfreedomofspeech,

ofthepress,ofassembly,ofassocia7on,ofprocessionandofdemonstra7on.”–Cons7tu7onoftheP.R.C.

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…butnoteveryoneagreeswhatfreedomofspeechmeans

“Chineseci7zensfullyenjoyfreedomofspeechontheInternet.”

–TheInternetinChina,Chinesegovernmentwhitepaper,June2010

“ByNovember…350mpiecesofharmfulinforma7on,includingtext,picturesandvideos,hadbeendeleted…therewasanotableimprovementintheonlineculturalenvironment.”

–WangChen,deputyheadoftheCommunistparty’spropagandadepartmentandheadoftheStateCouncilInforma7onOffice

Notes:FT.com,December30,2010DRAFT.DONOTCITEORCIRCULATEWITHOUTAUTHOR'SPERMISSION.

Differentpriori?esdriveChinesemanagementoftheInternet

TheWestconsidersInternetfreedomapoli7calpriority• “Ontheirown,newtechnologiesdonottakesidesinthestrugglefor

freedomandprogress,buttheUnitedStatesdoes.Westandforasingleinternetwhereallofhumanityhasequalaccesstoknowledgeandideas.“–HillaryClinton,January21,2010

ChinaemphasizestheInternet’spoten7alforeconomicdevelopment• “TheChinesegovernmenthas…endeavoredtocreateahealthyand

harmoniousInternetenvironment,andbuildanInternetthatismorereliable,useful,andconducivetoeconomicandsocialdevelopment...Na7onalsitua7onsandculturaltradi7onsdifferamongcountries,andsoconcernaboutInternetsecurityalsodiffers.ConcernsaboutInternetsecurityofdifferentcountriesshouldbefullyrespected.”–TheInternetinChina,Chinesegovernmentwhitepaper,June2010

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AbrieflessononChinesepoli?cs

• Toppriorityisstability,orpreserva7onofCommunistPartyrule

• Partylegi7macyhastwopillars:economicdevelopmentandterritorialintegrity

• Chinahasahistoryofsocialunrestleadingtorevolu7on

TheidealInternetisawalledgardenthatpromotesgrowthandsocialstability

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• China’svisionoftheInternetandopenness

• Structureofcontrol

• Ver?calintegra?onofcontrol

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GeneralPrinciplesofControl

• Pushresponsibilityandimplementa7ondownward

• Createmul7pleleverstoenablefine‐grainedcontrol

• Relyonthepanop7conanddeterrence

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Organiza?onalcontrolstructureincludesParty,government,andquangos

Notes:“TugofWaroverChina’sCyberspace,”ChinaHumanRightsDefenders,March13,2009

• Three‐partstructurewithoverlappingjurisdic7onsandresponsibili7es

• Powerdelegateddownwardandoutward

• LargeroleplayedbyBeijingPartyandgovernmentorgansduetobasingofmajorna7onalcommercialwebsitesandISPsinBeijing

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Regulatorybodiesuseavarietyoftoolsofcontrol• Licenses,registra7ons,andpermits

– OnlineforumsmustregisterwithMIITandhavestand‐aloneserversplacedinaroomofacompanycer7fiedbyCommunica7onsManagementBureau

– Onlycompaniespar7allyorwhollyownedbythestatecanprovideInternetaudioandvideoservices,andonlywithpermitsfromSARFTandMIIT

• Cyber110‘virtualpolice’icons

• ‘Pointsystem’forcommercialISPsandwebsites

• Strictrulesonwhoisallowedtoprintar7clesfromwhere

• Internalthird‐partymonitoring

Butthegovernmentofenchoosestoactthroughquangosinstead

Policytoolsrangefrombroadguidelinestomicromanagement

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Notes:“TugofWaroverChina’sCyberspace”;TheInternetinChinaWhitePaper,June2010

Policyimplementa?ono6enle6toquangosandsocietySelf‐regula7onconsideredop7malbecauseitis‘voluntary’• InternetSocietyofChina(ISC)PublicPledgesofSelfRegula7onon

professionalethics,pornography,an7‐malicioussofware,blogs,viruses,copyrights

• 233domainnameregistrarssignedacodeofconductattherequestoftheChinaInternetnetworkInforma7onCenter

• BeijingInternetNewsandInforma7onCouncilrequiredpublicapologiesbycompaniesthatbreachedundefinedregula7ons

TheBeijingAssocia7onofOnlineMedia,underdirec7onoftheBeijingIPMO,recruitsci7zenstopolicetheInternet

• “InternetSurveillanceVolunteers”mustreport50itemsof“harmful”informa7oneachmonthwithURLsandscreenshots

• “50‐centgang”ofInternetcommentators“guidepublicopinion”fromasurveillancecenteratBeijingIPMO,with1‐3permajorcommercialwebsite

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Notes:“TugofWaroverChina’sCyberspaces”

Internetmonitoringmechanismreflectspoli?calandsocialstructure

Internetcontrolreliesuponthepanop7coneffectanddeterrenceeffectofhigh‐profilecases

Downwarddelega7onofresponsibilityensuresthatwebsitesandISPshaveanincen7vetomonitortheirusersanderronthesideofcau7on

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Technicalmeansofcensorship:anongoingarmsraceGreatFirewall(GoldenShield)

• Blockwebsitesandports(IPblocking,DNSfilteringandredirec7on)• Restrictkeywordsandsearches(URLfiltering,packetfiltering)• TCPresets• Blockcommercialsubscrip7onVPNs

GreenDamproject(nowabandoned)akemptedtoinstallcensorshipsofwaredirectlyontonewcomputerswhensold

Malwareakacksagainstjournalists,dissidents,NGOs• Spearfishing• Hackingintoemailaccounts

HowtobeMerunderstandtheevolu?onofthearmsraceandarsenal?

Notes:“The10ToolsofOnlineOppressors,”CommikeetoProtectJournalists,May2,2011

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• China’svisionoftheInternetandopenness

• Structureofcontrol

• Ver?calintegra?onofcontrol

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Chinahasver?callyintegratedcontrolalongthevaluechain

Equipmentprovider

• Rela7onshipwithHuawei

Accessprovider

• State‐ownedinfrastructure

• 8.3Mkmoffiber

• $630Bspentfrom1997‐2009onInternetinfrastructure

• 866,367Mbpsbandwidthin2009

Serviceprovider

• 8ISPswithconnec7onstoforeignInternetbackbone,moststate‐owned,e.g.,ChinaTelecom,ChinaUnicom

Applica7ondevelopers

• MostWeb2.0applica7onsblocked,e.g.,Facebook,Twiker

• Favoropensourceplaqorms

• Promo7onofdomes7calterna7ves:Alibaba’sTaobaoandAlipay,Tencent’sQQ,Baidu,Sina’sWeibo.com,Renren.com

• Collabora7onswithothers,e.g.,Facebook

Consumerdevices

• GreenDam• Registra7onofSIMchips

• Registra7onrequiredatInternetcafes

• Listof“ApprovedMediaNewsSources”

• Onlystate‐ownedoutletscanpostInternetvideo

• Internalthird‐partymonitoring

Users

• Arrestsanddisappearancesofbloggersanddissidents

• Akacksonjournalistsanddissidentemailaccounts

• Onlinesurveillance:‘BigMamas’,110Cyberpolice,50‐centgang

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Notes:“TugofWaroverChina’sCyberspace”;TheInternetinChinaWhitePaper

Nextsteps

Sowheredowegofromhere?

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