Chinese Internet CensorshipChinese internet censorship began soon after the internet was in use in China. According to CNN, "Soon after China tip-toed onto the Internet in the late 1980s, it laid down the foundation of the Great Firewall." However, this project to place censorship over the Internet was seen as impossible by many in the early years of its setup. Nevertheless, China has found a way to severely restrict the information in their internet and monitor the activities of their 340 million internet users.
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"If an Internet user in China searches for the word 'persecution,' he or she is likely to come up with a link to a blank screen that says 'page cannot be displayed." |
Strength of Internet CensorshipAccording to CFR Backgrounders, China was ranked 175th out of 180 countries in terms of press freedom by Reporters Without Borders, an international nonprofit organization that's goal is freedom of the press. China blocks any website that the think is harmful to their nation, and places extreme restrictions on many other websites. It also censors the certain words, including "democracy" and "human rights."
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Current IssuesIn recent years, China has been making its internet censorship tougher and tougher. In 2012, China required internet users to give their real name to service providers. They have also started to censor more and more of large websites like Google and Yahoo. The extreme censorship has resulted in many people trying to circumvent the regulation of the internet through various software, and using different code words.
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