{ "id": "RL33167", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL33167", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 312370, "date": "2006-02-10", "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:14:32.071029", "title": "Internet Development and Information Control in the People's Republic of China", "summary": "Since its founding in 1949, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has exerted great effort in\nmanipulating the flow of information and prohibiting the dissemination of viewpoints that criticize\nthe government or stray from the official Communist party view. The introduction of Internet\ntechnology in the mid-1990's presented a challenge to government control over news sources, and\nby extension, over public opinion. While the Internet has developed rapidly, broadened access to\nnews, and facilitated mass communications in China, many forms of expression online, as in other\nmass media, are still significantly stifled. \n Empirical studies have found that China has one of the most sophisticated content-filtering\nInternet regimes in the world. The Chinese government employs increasingly sophisticated methods\nto limit content online, including a combination of legal regulation, surveillance, and punishment\nto promote self-censorship, as well as technical controls. U.S. government efforts to defeat Internet\n\"jamming\" include funding through the Broadcasting Board of Governors to provide\ncounter-censorship software to Chinese Internet users to access Voice of America (VOA) and Radio\nFree Asia (RFA) in China. \n As U.S. investments in China and bilateral trade have surged in the past several years and China\nhas developed its communications infrastructure, Chinese society has undergone rapid changes while\nthe PRC government has continued to repress political dissent. Many U.S. observers, including\ngovernment officials, have argued that economic openness and the growth of the Internet in China\nwould help bring about political liberalization in China. However, contrary to facilitating freedom,\nsome private U.S. companies have been charged with aiding or complying with Chinese Internet\ncensorship. Private U.S. companies that provide Internet hardware, such as routers, as well as those\nthat provide Internet services such as Web-log (blog) hosting or search portals, have been accused\nof ignoring international standards for freedom of expression when pursuing business opportunities\nin the PRC market. \n In the 108th Congress, the provisions of the \"Global Internet Freedom Act\" ( H.R. 48 ) were subsumed into the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 2004-05 ( H.R. 1950 ) and passed by the House on July 16, 2003. Christopher Cox reintroduced the bill\n( H.R. 2216 ) to the 109th Congress in May 2005. If passed, the act would authorize $50\nmillion for FY2006 and FY2007 to develop and implement a global Internet freedom policy. The\nact would also establish an office within the International Broadcasting Bureau with the sole mission\nof countering Internet jamming by repressive governments. On February 1, 2006, the Congressional\nHuman Rights Caucus held a hearing entitled, \"Human Rights and the Internet -- The People's\nRepublic of China.\" On February 15, 2006, the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and\nInternational Operations of the House International Relations Committee will hold a joint hearing\nwith the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific regarding the Internet and censorship in China. \n This report will be updated periodically.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL33167", "sha1": "b07009ad15f1247971c7eb2b3d6ecf3aaba47cbf", "filename": "files/20060210_RL33167_b07009ad15f1247971c7eb2b3d6ecf3aaba47cbf.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL33167", "sha1": "6e38b072624cc4db1249ceed771d5de4895d8c8b", "filename": "files/20060210_RL33167_6e38b072624cc4db1249ceed771d5de4895d8c8b.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs7946/", "id": "RL33167_2005Nov22", "date": "2005-11-22", "retrieved": "2005-12-21T17:03:26", "title": "Internet Development and Information Control in the People's Republic of China", "summary": "Since its founding in 1949, the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC) has exerted\r\ngreat effort in manipulating the flow of information and prohibiting the dissemination\r\nof viewpoints that criticize the government or stray from the official Communist\r\nparty view. The introduction of Internet technology in the mid-1990\u2019s presented a\r\nchallenge to government control over news sources, and by extension, over public\r\nopinion. While the Internet has developed rapidly, broadened access to news, and\r\nfacilitated mass communications in China, many forms of expression online, as in\r\nother mass media, are still significantly stifled. This report discusses the history of this issue and examines the U.S.'s response.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20051122_RL33167_737030ecc52474697a2566a55be2eaf8d18babd6.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20051122_RL33167_737030ecc52474697a2566a55be2eaf8d18babd6.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Technology", "name": "Technology" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Internet - Government policy - China", "name": "Internet - Government policy - China" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Foreign Affairs" ] }