Internet service providers (ISPs) access to backbone connections. In November 2006 the
Ministry of Public Security announced the completion of the essential tasks of constructing the
first stage of its “Golden Shield” project, which is
a digital national surveillance network with almost
complete coverage across public security units
nationwide. 15
By sheer scope and range of topics—from
online novels to video satires—discussion and
expression over the Internet is flourishing. A
major development has been the explosion of the
Chinese blogosphere, which reached 20.8 million blogs at the end of 2006. 16 The growth of the
Internet, in tandem with other technologies such
as short messaging services, has also engendered a phenomenon of increasingly relevant
“public opinion” in China, where incidents not
necessarily prioritized by traditional media
receive national attention and frequently lead to
calls for government action and response. At
times, online activity has tested this relationship
between citizens and government on a range of
sensitive issues.
Legal and regulatory frameworks
Although China’s constitution formally guarantees freedom of expression and publication,
17
as
well as the protection of human rights, legal and
administrative regulations ensure that the
Chinese Communist Party will be supported in its
attempt at strict supervision of all forms of media.
Government ministries and Party organs also use
both formal and informal controls, including policies and instructions, editor responsibility for
content, economic incentives, defamation liability, intimidation, and other forms of pressure to
discipline media. 18
Many of these formal and informal controls
have been extended to Chinese cyberspace,
though the greater range of nonstate actors
makes legal regulation over the Internet a more
complex effort. China’s legal control over Internet
access and usage is multilayered and achieved
by distributing criminal and financial liability,
licensing and registration requirements, and selfmonitoring instructions to nonstate actors at
every stage of access, from the ISP to the content provider and the end user. The Internet has
been targeted for monitoring since before it was
even commercially available, 19 and the government seems intent on keeping regulatory pace
with its growth and development. For example,
over half of the 137 million Internet users in China
were found to have visited video sharing sites, 20
and in August 2006 the State Administration for
Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) announced it
would be issuing regulations subjecting all online
video content to its inspection. 21
ISPs are required to record important data
(such as identification, length of visit, and activities) about all of their users for at least sixty days
and to ensure that no illegal content is being
hosted on their servers. 22 Internet content
providers, such as BBS and other user-generated
content sites, are directly responsible for what is
published on their service. 23 Internet access
through cybercafés is also heavily regulated: all
cafés are required to install filtering software, ban
minors from entering, monitor the activities of the
users, and record every user’s identity and complete session logs for up to sixty days. 24 Getting
a permit for a café is a complex process, and at
any time one of at least three state departments
have jurisdiction to deem a cybercafé to be inadequately self-policing and shut it down. 25 All services providing Internet users with information via
the Internet that fail sufficiently to monitor their
sites and report violations to the proper authorities also face serious consequences, including
shutdown, criminal liability, and license revocation. 26
New subscribers to ISPs themselves have
been expected to register with their local police
bureaus since 1996. 27 In October 2006, the
Internet Society of China recommended the
drafting of regulations that would require all individuals to register actual personal identifying
Country Summaries
265
Ministry of Public Security announced the completion of the essential tasks of constructing the
first stage of its “Golden Shield” project, which is
a digital national surveillance network with almost
complete coverage across public security units
nationwide. 15
By sheer scope and range of topics—from
online novels to video satires—discussion and
expression over the Internet is flourishing. A
major development has been the explosion of the
Chinese blogosphere, which reached 20.8 million blogs at the end of 2006. 16 The growth of the
Internet, in tandem with other technologies such
as short messaging services, has also engendered a phenomenon of increasingly relevant
“public opinion” in China, where incidents not
necessarily prioritized by traditional media
receive national attention and frequently lead to
calls for government action and response. At
times, online activity has tested this relationship
between citizens and government on a range of
sensitive issues.
Legal and regulatory frameworks
Although China’s constitution formally guarantees freedom of expression and publication,
17
as
well as the protection of human rights, legal and
administrative regulations ensure that the
Chinese Communist Party will be supported in its
attempt at strict supervision of all forms of media.
Government ministries and Party organs also use
both formal and informal controls, including policies and instructions, editor responsibility for
content, economic incentives, defamation liability, intimidation, and other forms of pressure to
discipline media. 18
Many of these formal and informal controls
have been extended to Chinese cyberspace,
though the greater range of nonstate actors
makes legal regulation over the Internet a more
complex effort. China’s legal control over Internet
access and usage is multilayered and achieved
by distributing criminal and financial liability,
licensing and registration requirements, and selfmonitoring instructions to nonstate actors at
every stage of access, from the ISP to the content provider and the end user. The Internet has
been targeted for monitoring since before it was
even commercially available, 19 and the government seems intent on keeping regulatory pace
with its growth and development. For example,
over half of the 137 million Internet users in China
were found to have visited video sharing sites, 20
and in August 2006 the State Administration for
Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) announced it
would be issuing regulations subjecting all online
video content to its inspection. 21
ISPs are required to record important data
(such as identification, length of visit, and activities) about all of their users for at least sixty days
and to ensure that no illegal content is being
hosted on their servers. 22 Internet content
providers, such as BBS and other user-generated
content sites, are directly responsible for what is
published on their service. 23 Internet access
through cybercafés is also heavily regulated: all
cafés are required to install filtering software, ban
minors from entering, monitor the activities of the
users, and record every user’s identity and complete session logs for up to sixty days. 24 Getting
a permit for a café is a complex process, and at
any time one of at least three state departments
have jurisdiction to deem a cybercafé to be inadequately self-policing and shut it down. 25 All services providing Internet users with information via
the Internet that fail sufficiently to monitor their
sites and report violations to the proper authorities also face serious consequences, including
shutdown, criminal liability, and license revocation. 26
New subscribers to ISPs themselves have
been expected to register with their local police
bureaus since 1996. 27 In October 2006, the
Internet Society of China recommended the
drafting of regulations that would require all individuals to register actual personal identifying
Country Summaries
265