The signs of a crackdown were unmistakable.
Over the summer, two popular Chinese websites hosting foreign TV shows and movies were wiped clean. Soon after that, WhatsApp was partly blocked by Chinese censors. And in November, Skype disappeared from download sites.
China, an authoritarian country where information is tightly controlled, has long had an uneasy relationship with the internet. Recognizing its importance for the economy, officials haven’t cut off access, as some repressive countries have done. Instead, China has allowed its citizens to go online, but with limits on what they can see.
However, over the past several months, the Chinese government has expanded online censorship—perhaps fearing that too much unfiltered information could one day lead to challenges against China’s one-party Communist system.
“It does appear the crackdown is becoming more intense, but the internet is also more powerful than it has ever been,” says Emily Parker, an expert on the internet in China.
The signs of a crackdown were unmistakable.
Over the summer, two popular Chinese websites hosting foreign TV shows and movies were wiped clean. Soon after that, WhatsApp was partly blocked by Chinese censors. And in November, Skype disappeared from download sites.
China has long had an uneasy relationship with the internet. It’s an authoritarian country where information is tightly controlled. While some repressive countries have cut off access to the internet, China hasn't. This is because Chinese officials recognize its importance for the economy. Instead, China has allowed its citizens to go online, but with limits on what they can see.
But the Chinese government has expanded online censorship over the past several months. It's possible that they fear too much unfiltered information. They might see it as a future challenge against China’s one-party Communist system.
“It does appear the crackdown is becoming more intense, but the internet is also more powerful than it has ever been,” says Emily Parker, an expert on the internet in China.