Cheat-Seeking Missles

Thursday, April 14, 2005

Chinese Snuff Out Internet Dissent

From the Associated Press:

China's [Internet] filters can block just specific references to Tibetan independence without blocking all references to Tibet. Likewise, the government is effective at limiting discussions about Falun Gong, the Dalai Lama, Tiananmen Square and other topics deemed sensitive, the study from the OpenNet Initiative finds.

Numerous government agencies and thousands of public and private employees are involved at all levels, from the main pipelines, or backbones, hauling data over long distances to the cybercafes where many citizens access the Internet.

That breadth, the study finds, allows the filtering tools to adapt to emerging forms of communications, such as Web journals, or blogs.

Repressing people requires the repression of information. The Chinese government is proving to be increasingly adept at both. The article doesn't say what happens to those caught in the net of China's filters. Whatever it is, it won't win China a seat on the UN Human Rights Commission. Oh wait ... yes it would.