Although more than 384 million people have access to the Internet in China, only a fraction of what the range is available online to offer Web users.Why? Because the Chinese government is using what is called Great Firewall of China to censor Internet. Censoring the Internet media information is reviewed to eliminate what is considered unacceptable.
How China Censors The Internet: :
Instead of banning certain websites, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) uses filtering software that detects sensitive words to move data across a network. When a user logs in and tries to find bad words like "Tiananmen incident" filtering software detects the forbidden word and sends commands back to break the connection that the user can not access to information on "Tiananmen incident".
As more Chinese have Internet access, the Chinese government is finding other ways to censor the Internet. In the summer of 2010, the government ordered all new computers sold in China will be installed with the software of green government censorship of the dam, but the idea was abandoned after international protests.
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| Internet Censorship In China |
In December 2010, began MIIT requires sites to register their true identity. The government said it was to take action against porn sites, but opponents say it was another way for China to create a list of approved sites and block innocent sites.
But it's not just the Chinese government, which prevents users from accessing sensitive data. Microsoft censors Chinese language searches on its search engine Bing both in and outside China, Apple has blocked the download of an application of the Dalai Lama for iPhone and iTouch, and both Google and Yahoo! have filtered searches to do business in China.
What Is Censored In China?
MIIT of China has blocked Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. The list of sensitive topics and keywords is constantly changing, but always includes:
While some users to avoid censorship using proxies and VPN (Virtual Private Network), which masks the IP address of a user, these services become less accessible from inside China.
C. Google China:
In January 2011, Google decided to stop censoring its Chinese search engine, Google.cn Google charges for an attack against her and 20 other companies in what Google calls an attempt to steal code and enter the Gmail accounts of activists of human rights. Launched in January 2006, Google.cn is second behind search engine Baidu, which owns 60 percent of the market for Chinese search engines. It is not known whether the decision means the end of Google in China.
U.S. Response To Internet Censorship In China:
Before the style up between Google and China, U.S. President Barack Obama addressed the censorship of the Internet while talking with students in Shanghai in November 2010:
"I think the information flow more freely, the more society becomes, because then citizens of countries around the world can have their own governments accountable," Obama said. "You may begin to think for themselves."
His comments, however, were censured by the live broadcast on local television in Shanghai, but included in the transcript of his comments posted on Xinhua, the website of state news agency.
Days after the announcement that Google stop censoring its search engine in China, Hillary Clinton gave what was the first U.S. free speech, making the Internet part of foreign policy. He used the terminology of the Cold War to describe the censorship of the Internet:
"A new information curtain is falling in many parts of the world."
Clinton also called for an investigation into allegations of Google:
"In an interconnected world, an attack on the network of a country could be an attack against all," Clinton said. "Countries or individuals with cyber-attacks must face the consequences and punishment international level. "
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei of the Department (何 亚非) replied:
"Google is the case should not be linked to relations between the two governments and the country, otherwise it will be interpreted too."
