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Web porn won't hurt China as much as Orwell will
William Pesek
June 22, 2009

Source:
http://business.smh.com.au/business/web-porn-wont-hurt-china-as-much-as-orwell-will-20090622-csvc.html?page=-1

It's awkwardly named the "Green Dam-Youth Escort" program.

It has nothing to do with the environment; barriers preventing the
flow of water; inspiring people under 20; or hiring ladies to keep you
company. It's about China's leaders creating economic roadblocks where
they shouldn't be.

The reference here is to China requiring so-called anti- pornography
software for all personal computers sold in the country. I say
"so-called" because this is less about smut than inhibiting the flow
of information. It's about restricting access to things the state
doesn't want people to know about.

Sadly, China's bid to censor the Internet is part of a trend in Asia
that may hold back the region's development.

Growth in Internet curbs on the part of Asian governments is
accelerating and many are shifting to a new generation of Web
restrictions, according to a report last week by the OpenNet
Initiative, which monitors Internet surveillance practices.

There's an "emerging inclination for states to actively engage in
cyberspace as a way to achieve the same effects of information
controls," said the group that includes researchers at the University
of Cambridge, Harvard University and the University of Toronto.

China is Exhibit A. Depending on which news report you read, the
government is either backpedaling on its Internet- filtering plan or
going ahead with it. There has also been speculation about security
holes, pirated computer code, and lawyers and academics questioning
the software's legality.

Orwellian China

Whatever happens, this tale reminds us that China's big problem isn't
online smut, but George Orwell.

The author's Nine-teen Eighty-Four was published in 1949, a year
before his death. His novel, which introduced concepts such as "Big
Brother" and "'thought crime" and "Newspeak" into the vernacular,
unwittingly provides an insight into where the Internet is heading.
What we are seeing in Asia these days is Orwellian.

Any country that censors Google is tying one limb behind its back.
It's a foolish and futile thing to do. And yet China, which seeks to
compete in the Information Age and stimulate entrepreneurship, is
doing just that.

The outcry the software plan has provoked is a cautionary tale for the
fastest-growing major economy. A letter to the Chinese government from
the US Chamber of Commerce and 18 other business associations warned
of a chilling effect on China's economy at the worst possible moment.

National Spyware

This software could be adapted to act as national spyware. Every
Internet search is documented, every touch of the keyboard is
registered and stored somewhere. What if you are an investor
exchanging ideas about China's economy? Or an economist sharing
research on whether China's gross domestic product data are accurate?
You may be less inclined to question the conventional wisdom and the
propaganda.

Two of China's key challenges are official corruption and the
environment. Corruption keeps the benefits of 6 percent or 8 percent
growth from spreading widely, while environmental degradation will
limit how fast China can grow. Without a free media and open discourse
online, both problems are sure to fester for years to come.

Technology companies tend to see dollar signs, not ethical dilemmas,
when doing business in China. In recent years, Google, Yahoo! Inc. and
Microsoft Corp. adjusted their China strategies to comply with local
rules. Companies such as Cisco Systems Inc. have sold filtering
equipment to aid China's thought police.

Bowing to Beijing

The industry's history of bowing to Beijing doesn't seem likely to
change. The scenario has helped answer the question of whether the
Internet would change China, or China would change the Internet.

That's not to say cyberspace isn't helping to open China. Government
officials are at a disadvantage in keeping up with so-called netizens.
That will surely try. The city of Beijing, for example, wants to
recruit 10,000 volunteers by summer's end to monitor cyberspace,
according to the New York Times.

China ended up looking silly on June 4 when it blocked Twitter Inc. on
the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Of course,
officials in Tehran probably regretted not doing the same given the
role the social-networking service played in the protests after Iran's
recent election.

'World Champion'

Reporters Without Borders calls China the "world champion" of
cyberspace censorship. The good news is that there has been widespread
criticism about Green Dam. Petitions against it have been circulating
on Chinese Web sites. The public reaction is hopefully being noticed
in the halls of power.

Other Asian govern-ments should take notice. India, Indonesia and
Thailand aren't above blocking Web sites or certain content. Internet
rules in South Korea, one of the most wired nations, have raised
concerns about transparency and democracy. Japan is making similar
noises. Malaysia is repor-tedly considering laws for online media.
Governments' hearts are in the right place when they try to limit
children's access to porn or sites deemed to help terrorists and
fraudsters. It's a slippery slope, though, and the risks of overreach
and economically damaging censorship are real. Go too far and Asia's
future will be truly Orwellian.

-- 
Clean Feed, it "cleans" the Internet in the same way that Ethnic
Cleansing "cleanses" the population.

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