The internet has played a key role in China’s opening up to the world. But, as Rebecca MacKinnon writes, the Chinese government has cracked down on online freedom of expression. Thanks to deals with multinational corporations, US technology has facilitated Beijing’s campaign to restrict internet discussions on troublesome issues like democracy, human rights, and Taiwanese independence. “Granular” technologies developed by US information technology giants enable installation of a powerful mesh of filters to control information flow: State-of-the art routers automatically track individual internet users and even filter out sub-pages from larger sites. As a result, says MacKinnon, “the picture of the world as seen by most Chinese internet users is heavily skewed in the regime’s favor.” Western companies have felt increasing public pressure to take more responsibility for China’s uses of their products, even spurring US legislation to support freedom on the internet. Despite the multinationals’ claims of innocence – and ignorance – more and more critics, like MacKinnon, are calling for “consequences for companies found to be deliberately aiding censorship and political repression.”
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