World

The walls are closing in: China finds new ways to tighten Internet controls

Thirty years ago, China sent its first-ever email.

“Across the Great Wall, we can reach every corner of the world,” the Mail Administration of China wrote to researchers at Germany’s University of Karlsruhe at 9:07 p.m. Beijing time on Sept. 14, 1987.

But instead of bridging the wall, China has since built a new one, in cyberspace — the largest system of Internet censorship, control and surveillance in the world, nicknamed the Great Firewall of China.

You've reached your daily free article limit.

Subscribe and support our veteran writing staff to continue reading.

Get Full Ad-Free Access For Just $0.50/Week

Enjoy unlimited digital access to our Military Culture, Defense, and Foreign Policy coverage content and support a veteran owned business. Already a subscriber?

Thirty years ago, China sent its first-ever email.

“Across the Great Wall, we can reach every corner of the world,” the Mail Administration of China wrote to researchers at Germany’s University of Karlsruhe at 9:07 p.m. Beijing time on Sept. 14, 1987.

But instead of bridging the wall, China has since built a new one, in cyberspace — the largest system of Internet censorship, control and surveillance in the world, nicknamed the Great Firewall of China.

Thirty years on, it is extending those controls even further.

Since passing its broad new Cybersecurity Law in June, the Communist Party has rolled out new regulations — and steps to enforce existing ones — that reflect its desire to control and exploit every inch of the digital world, experts say.

Today, the Great Firewall is being built not just around the country, to keep foreign ideas and uncomfortable truths out, but around every individual, computer and smartphone, in a society that has become the most digitally connected in the world.

 

Read the whole story from The Washington Post.

About SOFREP News Team View All Posts

The SOFREP News Team is a collective of professional military journalists. Brandon Tyler Webb is the SOFREP News Team's Editor-in-Chief. Guy D. McCardle is the SOFREP News Team's Managing Editor. Brandon and Guy both manage the SOFREP News Team.

COMMENTS

You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article.

More from SOFREP

REAL EXPERTS.
REAL NEWS.

Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis.

TRY 14 DAYS FREE

Already a subscriber? Log In