For a long period of time, China was stuck in a digital and innovative lull in which it was years behind the modern technology found in the rest of the world. As it has moved to catch up with others, it has done so with restrictions. Censorship of the internet is at an all-time high, with new words being added to the watchlist every day. Through censorship, “the government hopes to foster an Internet society that doesn’t concern itself with politics or current affairs. It has been largely successful, but the firewall and its architects still infuriate a large part of China’s online population.”
The government uses many tools to go about censoring the internet and the information that can be found on it. For one, it creates bottlenecks. “Internet traffic to China is channeled through three computer centers — near Beijing, Shanghai and the southern city of Guangzhou.” Forcing the internet traffic to go through only these three cities causes uploads to be much slower, allowing the government to observe and moderate information much easier than if the internet were spread out as it is in the US. Along with the bottlenecks, packet sniffers for suspicious material are sent out. If something fishy is returned, the internet connection for that user can be blocked. Self-censorship of both companies and single users is also used; companies are told to cooperate and remove any suspicious material from their websites, or else their sites could be blocked completely and business could be lost. Many users censor themselves for fear of losing internet privileges. Propaganda can be found throughout the Chinese internet to scare users into behaving properly. “Authorities in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen created two cute cartoon cybercops — the male Jingjing and the female Chacha — that pop up on websites to remind Internet users they’re being watched. The Beijing Youth Daily newspaper quoted a security official admitting that the big-eyed cartoon duo were designed “to intimidate.””
In terms of ethics when it comes to companies in censored countries, I think there are a few options. One, companies can comply with the censorship laws. While I don’t think this is morally right, I believe the wrongdoing exists at the higher level – the government imposing the censorship, not the companies working within it. If companies are uncomfortable with the censorship requirements, they have every right to do what Google did the second time around and pull themselves out of the country. From a business standpoint, working within censorship guidelines is a treasure chest – in China alone, there are twice the amount of internet users than there are residents in the US. Expanding into that market would mean huge gains for a company. The moral obligation lies with each company. Does that company wholeheartedly believe in freedom of speech and expression? If so, it is their moral duty to try to uphold those ideals, and that means not complying with censorship. But if a company does not believe in those ideals, I believe it is their moral right to stand for what they believe in, even if that means standing for censorship. Personally, I side with the former.
Technology companies thrive off of new inventions and innovative software. That being said, I believe that technology companies and developers are operating ethically when they develop tools that circumvent censorship restrictions. I do not, however, believe it is ethical to distribute those tools. I am in full favor of freedom of speech and expression, but I believe it is up to each individual person to decide how far they want to take that. If a user is adamant about getting around firewalls, as were some of the users in the articles we read, there are many “ladders” they can use, they just have to go find them.
The concern about online censorship is something that varies from person to person. If it is to be overcome at any point, it will have to be an incredible group effort. Technology companies will have to hold firm in their belief that information should not be censored and should not conform to limitations. Like Google and Skype, companies will have to be willing to lose operating rights in a country to stand for what they believe. As long as there are companies willing to work within those limitations and believe they are for the better, such as WeChat, censorship will continue to thrive.
hfredric 