# China's web police

- Author: Joichi Ito
- Date: 2004-06-29T10:41:33Z


I originally saw this article in the IHT, but found it online on E-Commerce News.

Howard W. FrenchChina's Web Police Send Mixed Message

...Internet cafe users in China have long been subject to an extraordinary range of controls. They include cameras placed discreetly throughout the establishments to monitor and identify users and Web masters, and Internet cafe managers who keep an eye on user activity, whether electronically or by patrolling the premises.

The average Internet user, meanwhile, neither sees nor, in many cases, suspects the activities of a force widely estimated to number as many as 30,000 Internet police officers. Experts on China's Internet say the officers are constantly engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with equally determined Web surfers, blocking access to sites that the government considers politically offensive, monitoring users who visit other politically sensitive sites and killing off discussion threads on Internet bulletin boards.

[...]

Asked if the privacy of Internet users could be infringed, the official said that the Shanghai government had noted the issue, but added that "Internet bars are public areas, and some experts say that what one says in a public area should not be considered private.""Some experts say".. ;-) Some experts will say anything.

Seriously though, I can only see how this will get worse for both sides. Obviously the "arms vendors" will make money in the cat-and-mouse game, but can China afford to ramp up the Internet police force as China gets more and more wired/wireless. I wonder how long this "control" can continue and how much it's going to cost them. I guess that for now, they believe the control is worth the price.





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