Through various methods including iP blocking, VPN blocking, DNS spoofing, URL filtering, packet filtering, and TCP connection resets, China has erected what some call the ‘Great Firewall of China’. China also blocks about 10,000 foreign websites including major sites used by the rest of the world such as Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, and YouTube. Although China's control of the internet is not complete and there are ways to get around it, VPNs being the most popular, the threat of punitive retaliation acts as the major control of the internet in China.
Ostensibly, the main reason for the firewall has been to protect domestic companies providing similar websites to what Google, Facebook and other major internet players have developed for the rest of the world. The ancillary, and more chilling reason, is the amount of control and power it gives the central government.
In acoustics, an echo chamber is a hollow enclosure wherein sound reverberates. In our information environment, an echo chamber describes a situation where beliefs are modified by information, false or otherwise, and repetition. This psychological echo chamber that China has built is the envy of some other nations leaning toward autocratic leadership. Russia has signed a pact with China for help from its internet engineers in setting up a similar system. Zimbabwe, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cuba have also expressed interest in something similar to China’s control of the internet.
These nations and their cultures, should they follow up with this desire, may become insular and sterile. Who knows? This insulation from the rest of the world may create islands of diverse cultures, spur innovation, and allow natural talent to flourish without the world telling it what can and cannot be done. However, this makes it much easier for these governments to manipulate the hearts and minds of their population. Even if you aren’t an evil, power-hungry, sadistic bastard of a leader, what the hell would you want with that much power unless you were hungry for power.
This is exactly what is going on in China right now. There are the stories of a million Chinese muslims being “re-educated” and rumors of foreigners in general getting the cold shoulder, arrested, even “disappeared” - especially if they espouse human rights or freedom of speech. Falun Gong members are being hunted down, jailed, and persecuted using the internet.
I can write about this stuff with impunity because one, the U.S. is a free country; and two, it will not get back to Xi Jinping. All kidding aside, this is a worrying trend. A dictator or tyrant can hide behind his firewall and foment strife between segments of his society, increasing chances of civil war or war with other nations. Hopefully, other countries will back off the idea of internet firewalls simply because it represents such a large possibility of misuse. If not, it could be a serious impediment to the progress of humanity in general and to those countries in particular.
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