Elizabeth Hicks
07 Aug. 2005
Opennet Initiative:
A case study in filtering China’s Internet
A group called Opennet Initiative (ONI), located at www.opennetinitiative.net, has been created by “a partnership between three leading academic institutions: the Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto, Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, and the Advanced Network Research Group at the Cambridge Security Programme, University of Cambridge.” Their main goal is to “excavate, expose and analyze filtering and surveillance practices in a credible and non-partisan fashion.” ONI wants to learn more about the drawbacks and unintentional consequences of filtering and surveillance programs. ONI hopes that this information will help better the public policy and advocacy work.
Through their research, ONI has found many ways in which
China regulates Internet access for its citizens. Some of the ways China
regulates the Internet include, General media
regulation, Internet access regulation, and Internet content regulation. “China’s Internet regulatory policy
authorizes four state organizations — now subsumed into the Ministry of
Information Industry (MII) — to operate networks connected to the global
Internet.”
General media regulation occurs through a number or regulatory agencies. One such agency is The General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP). GAPP licenses and monitors media publications. Such publications include newspapers, periodicals, books and websites. GAPP gets help from the General Administration for Customs, “which confiscates publications deemed harmful to the government.”
Internet access
regulation is widespread in China. China has access controls for Internet
service providers (ISPs), Internet content providers (ICPs), Internet
subscribers and cybercafé users. China has always had access control of the
Internet. It is a major way in which the government filters the Internet. In
1994, one year before the Internet was commercially available to the public, the State Council gave the Minister of Public Security overall
responsibility for supervision of the Internet.
Since 1994, regulation of the Internet has become more intense. In September 2000, the “Interim Measures on the Administration of Record and Registration of Profit-making Websites” made registration procedures official. The government implemented yearly inspection of on-line business, which required the businesses “to register and submit information on their personnel for information checks.” They also required these businesses to post their registration number prominently on their websites. In addition, the State Council issued Order No. 292, which “attempted to differentiate Web sites that provide information involving the journalism, publication, education, medical care, medicines, and medical equipment and so on…from other Internet businesses”
ISPs are also controlled by the Chinese
government. ISPs have to get an operating license from MII. This license has to
have a record of a customer’s account number, phone number, and IP address.
They must also record the content of any Internet content providers “that
publish, operate bulletin boards, or engage in journalism.” The ISPs in China
are legally responsible for anything that they display. “ISPs that fail to
follow the law face revocation of their business license and arrest of company
staff.”
In 1996, the Chinese government
required all ISP subscribers to register with their local police within 30 days
of sign-up. In 2000, China began to require ISPs “to
track their users’ account numbers, when users are online, and the sites
customers visit.” ISPs must also keep a
detailed log of every subscriber’s Internet usage for 60 days. The ISP can also
be “held responsible if their customers use the ISP’s systems to violate laws.
Most ISPs have their own monitoring and censoring programs to further limit
their subscribers from accessing illegal information. This is to ensure that
the ISPs do not get into trouble with the government because one of their
subscribers did or saw something that they are not allowed to do or see.
Internet content providers have to
control access to and use of on-line bulletin board services. For-profit ICPs
must also apply for a special business license under state council order No.
292. Not-for-profit ICPs only have to file official records. Also, if an ICP
wants to operate a bulletin board system (BBS), they would need to apply for a
special license. An ICP that wants to offer BBSs has to create a set of comprehensive
rules, consistent with the government’s laws that govern a subscriber’s use of
the service. The rules must be prominently placed on the ICPs website.
Furthermore, ICPs must “set up a secure registration and login system to allow
the service to identify and track subscribers.” The ICP have to keep records of
subscribers’ usage for 60 days and be able to hand over that information when
government agencies request it. Lastly, ICPs have to monitor all content on the
services and immediately remove and report any inappropriate or illegal
postings.
In 2001, China’s State Council
performed a 3-month investigation into public Internet providers. Their
investigation eventually closed over 8,000 public Internet Cafés. Around 5,000
cafés in Liaoning alone, the police had installed software to filter out any
pornography or other “harmful” information. The regulation and surveillance of
cybercafés greatly increased after a 2002 fire in Beijing. Between October and
December 2004, the state shut down 150,000 unlicensed cybercafés. China shut
down more than 12,000 cybercafés, focusing mostly on those located near
elementary and middle schools. China has banned children under age 16 from the
cybercafés, because “customers often play violent video games.”
Everyday China is increasing its hold
on the Internet and the information found there. China does not want its people
to read or promote anti-Chinese thoughts. “Chinese citizens seeking access to
Web sites containing content related to Taiwanese and Tibetan independence,
Falun Gong, the Dalai Lama, the Tiananmen Square incident, opposition political
parties, or a variety of anti-Communist movements will frequently find
themselves blocked.” The Chinese government believes that it needs to keep
“harmful” material blocked and thus keep its people from knowing the truth.
“Internet Filtering in China in 2004 – 2005: A Country Study.” Case Studies. (2005). 07
Aug. 2005. <http://www.opennetinitiative.net/studies/china/#toc2b>