More and more countries follow China’s example as internet freedom declines around the world
Almost two decades ago, President Bill Clinton gave a speech in Washington predicting that in future “liberty will be spread by cell phone and cable modem.” He was also skeptical of China’s attempts to censor the Internet, claiming that ultimately, that effort will be fruitless.
“Now there’s no question China has been trying to crack down on the internet,” President Clinton said. “Good luck! That’s sort of like trying to nail jello to the wall.”
Since then, his metaphor has become a running joke among the Internet freedom activists around the globe, since, apparently, China not only nailed the jello but managed to keep it on the wall.
The new report, published recently by the Freedom House on Internet freedom, proves beyond any doubt that China’s jello is sticking. Not only that, but more and more countries have decided to follow China’s example, as Internet freedoms decline for the eight years in a row.
People who know more about the Internet and information technologies than President Clinton ever will have made the same prediction, and were equally proven wrong by China. Beijing has managed what was thought impossible, to create an effective firewall, shielding the country from the majority of news sources in the outside world and limiting their citizens to news approved by the Communist Party only. The Great Firewall, named so as a joke, has become a reality.
The Chinese Great Firewall has become so effective that other countries are asking for their help. Chinese Internet censorship experts are currently employed by Russia, Uganda, and many other countries, looking to achieve similar results.
Freedom House report confirms this. “A cohort of countries is moving toward digital authoritarianism by embracing the Chinese model of extensive censorship and automated surveillance systems,” Freedom House report states.
Lu Kang, the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, vehemently denied the report’s findings, claiming they “are sheer fabrications.”
“They are unprofessional, irresponsible and made with ulterior motives,” Lu said.
https://lisaleaks.com/2018/11/more-and-more-countries-follow-chinas-example-as-internet-freedom-declines-around-the-world/