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CASE STUDY:-
Analysis of the Chinese resistance to internet giants
like Google and Facebook.
Executive Summary
Internet censorship in China is among the most stringent in
the world. The government blocks Web sites that discuss the
Dalai Lama, the 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square
protesters, Falun Gong, the banned spiritual movement, and
other Internet sites.The only social sites or search engines
working in China now are home-grown ones-notably
Baidu,Sina & Weibo.
As revolts began to ricochet through the Middle East andNorth
Africa in 2011, and homegrown efforts to organize
protests began to circulate on the Internet, the Chinese
government has tightened its grip on electronic
communications, and appeared to be more determined than
ever to police cellphone calls, electronic messages, e-mail
and access to the Internet in order to smother any hint of
antigovernment
Introduction
The governments computers intercept incoming data and
compare it against an ever-changing list of banned keywords
or Web sites, screening out even more information. The
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motive is often obvious: Since late 2010, the censors have
prevented Google searches of the English word freedom.
Study
Web sites in China are required to employ people who
monitor and delete objectionable content; tens of thousands
of others are paid to "guide" bulletin board Web exchanges
in the government's favor.
Chinas censorship machine has been operating ever
moreefficiently since mid-2008, and restrictions once viewed as
temporary like bans on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter
are now considered permanent. Government-friendly
alternatives have sprung and developed a following.
Oversight increased markedly in December 2008 after
Charter 08, a pro-democracy movement led by highly
regarded intellectuals, released an online petition calling
for
an end to the Communist Party's monopoly on power. The
group's Web site, bulldog.com, was shut down.Government
censors began a campaign, ostensibly against Internetpornography
and other forms of deviance. Soon the
government effort had shut down more than 1,900 Web sites
and 250 blogs -- not only overtly pornographic sites, but
also
online discussion forums, instant-message groups and even
cellphone text messages in which political and other
sensitive
issues were broached.In 2009, the government pushed -- and
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ultimately backed off from -- a rule that would have
required
the installation of a new software program called "Green
Dam-Youth Escort'' on all new Chinese-made computers. The
software would effectively monitor a user's every move.
After strong resistance at home and abroad, however, China
indefinitely delayed enforcement of the rule.
Despite building one of the most technically sophisticated
Internet firewalls, China still has a community of Web users
that is among the most dynamic in the world. There are more
than 70 million bloggers in China, and in January 2009,
officials proudly announced that the number of Internet
users had approached 300 million, more than in any other
country.In addition to its massive firewall and intrusive
software, the government employs thousands of paid
commentators who pose as ordinary Web users to counter
criticism of the government. Known derisively as "50 Cent
Party" members, these shapers of public opinion are often
paid 50 Chinese cents a posting.
Analysis
From the above,we can conclude that Chinas resistance to
internet giants like Facebook may prove costly for it in the
long run.Also,does Facebook even need China?
Conclusions and Recommendations
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Chinas huge online population,incidently larger than even
the United States makes it a big market for Facebook,Twitter
or even Google.However,Chinas communist government
policies is a big hurdle.
For,these companies its a Catch-22 situation.Whether to
compromise its ethics and tap the huge online Chinese
population or to stand its face up till that it isnt if only
Facebook needs China its the other way round as well in the
current global economic and political climate.
References and Appendices
www.wikipedia.com
www.wallstreetjournal.com
-Sushman Das,
BA Economics (H),
Ph.No-8376886023
http://www.wikipedia.com/http://www.wikipedia.com/http://www.wallstreetjournal.com/http://www.wallstreetjournal.com/http://www.wikipedia.com/
