Radio Silence
A look at efforts to increase access to media in the developing world
Censorship in China
Out of China, reporters and human rights organizations are
putting China's Internet
censors
to the test.
The surprise seems to stem not from the censorship itself, but that IOC officials admit they agreed to some censorship of "non-Games related" sites. As much as Olympic organizers claim a desire to steer clear of politics, it is unavoidable.
Now, the IOC is softening, though the interesting part will come in seeing whether any changes occur. I can imagine the journalists in the media centre now trolling Web sites to see what is accessible and what is not.
The issue is of course much greater than whether western journalists can access the Web sites of human rights' groups or their newspaper Web sites back home.
Think of your everyday routine, and how much information you passively absorb trolling the Web each day. Whether it be newspapers, Google news, Wikipedia or Web sites targeted to our interests, our days are peppered with these moments when we catch a glimpse of life elsewhere, or a topic we knew little about just seconds earlier.
How would our collective dialogue and general knowledge change if those moments did not exist? As I write this, I have 14 Web sites opened in tabs on my computer. They are articles, Wikipedia pages, Google searches and newspaper archives, all supplying me with information I could not otherwise find if my Web access was restricted.
A couple years ago I wrote an article about software designed to allow users to circumvent censorship (you can learn more about it, and/or download it, here). It's tricky, because the software has to be invisible on the user's hard drive so the user does not put him or herself at risk by using it. But with that problem solved, it is solutions like this that will likely have more of an impact than lobbying an unreceptive government to change a widespread and entrenched policy.
The Olympics will come and go, but I will look for an article a month or so after the Olympics that compares Internet censorship in China before and after the Games. I'll happily lose the bet if the findings show any positive change.
The surprise seems to stem not from the censorship itself, but that IOC officials admit they agreed to some censorship of "non-Games related" sites. As much as Olympic organizers claim a desire to steer clear of politics, it is unavoidable.
Now, the IOC is softening, though the interesting part will come in seeing whether any changes occur. I can imagine the journalists in the media centre now trolling Web sites to see what is accessible and what is not.
The issue is of course much greater than whether western journalists can access the Web sites of human rights' groups or their newspaper Web sites back home.
Think of your everyday routine, and how much information you passively absorb trolling the Web each day. Whether it be newspapers, Google news, Wikipedia or Web sites targeted to our interests, our days are peppered with these moments when we catch a glimpse of life elsewhere, or a topic we knew little about just seconds earlier.
How would our collective dialogue and general knowledge change if those moments did not exist? As I write this, I have 14 Web sites opened in tabs on my computer. They are articles, Wikipedia pages, Google searches and newspaper archives, all supplying me with information I could not otherwise find if my Web access was restricted.
A couple years ago I wrote an article about software designed to allow users to circumvent censorship (you can learn more about it, and/or download it, here). It's tricky, because the software has to be invisible on the user's hard drive so the user does not put him or herself at risk by using it. But with that problem solved, it is solutions like this that will likely have more of an impact than lobbying an unreceptive government to change a widespread and entrenched policy.
The Olympics will come and go, but I will look for an article a month or so after the Olympics that compares Internet censorship in China before and after the Games. I'll happily lose the bet if the findings show any positive change.
About
A former reporter/mentor at the Daily Monitor newspaper in Uganda, Christopher gained an on-the-ground look at the role the media plays in development efforts. Previously, Christopher wrote for the New York Times. He now covers Canada for the UK's Financial Times. Views stated here are his own.
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2 Comments
Bob Jennings
Looks like you're in good company in thinking that the Games will see little progress in the fight for a freer, more open China.
Christopher Mason
Thanks for posting the link, Bob.
There is much to support the argument that in this case the negatives, as a result of lost progress, may outweight the positives of hosting the Olympics. For instance, this article outlining the 400,000-strong surveillance team deployed across Beijing-- "The old Maoist system of neighbourhood committees, which had largely fallen into irrelevance in the past decade, is being revived again as a tool of social control."