Comments on: New Web Censorship Laws for China http://www.n-line.co.uk/2005/06/07/new_web_censorship_laws_for_china/ a personal blog indulging in the unsolicited, uninvited, and often unwelcome views of yet another pesky foreigner... Sat, 19 May 2012 13:29:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Nick http://www.n-line.co.uk/2005/06/07/new_web_censorship_laws_for_china/#comment-25 Nick Tue, 07 Jun 2005 22:50:07 +0000 http://www.n-line.co.uk/blog/?p=44#comment-25 <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4617657.stm" rel="nofollow">The BBC have now published an article on on this topic</a> The BBC have now published an article on on this topic

]]> By: Rob http://www.n-line.co.uk/2005/06/07/new_web_censorship_laws_for_china/#comment-23 Rob Tue, 07 Jun 2005 21:19:45 +0000 http://www.n-line.co.uk/blog/?p=44#comment-23 Further to the last paragraph in my earlier comment, I found <a href="http://news.messages.yahoo.com/bbs?action=m&board=37172369&tid=nmchinacensorshipdc&sid=37172369&mid=1" rel="nofollow">this comment</a> on the Yahoo discussion board: Those Amateurs... by: sector_tracker (20/M/CA) 06/07/05 12:36 pm Msg: 1 of 1 If you are going to censor, do it like the experts. Look at how USA does it for example. First Amendment guarantees free speech, but for those who publicly express views contrary to the government, here is what you do, with each step in escalation 1) Send the FBI's to interview the person and his/her friends/family. The beauty of this is that no one can decry anything illegal but yet you are able to make those who know him/her cast suspicion about him/her. 2) Attack the person's integrity. If that doesn't work, attack the person's spouse integrity. For example, if the person's spouse is a spy, expose the spouse. However, make sure you use "anonymous sources" when doing it so that you can't be traced. 3) Put the person on "no fly list". The beauty is that the accountability cannot be traced back and that the person has no way to remove him/her! 4) Label the person as a terrorist and put him/her in prison. Person can be imprisoned indefinteily on the pretense that s/he is a terrorist. However, this only works if the person is found in the Middle East. I think a secret operation to make the person mysteriously show up in Middle East is needed. Further to the last paragraph in my earlier comment, I found this comment on the Yahoo discussion board:

Those Amateurs…
by: sector_tracker (20/M/CA) 06/07/05 12:36 pm
Msg: 1 of 1

If you are going to censor, do it like the experts.

Look at how USA does it for example. First Amendment guarantees free speech, but for those who publicly express views contrary to the government, here is what you do, with each step in escalation
1) Send the FBI’s to interview the person and his/her friends/family. The beauty of this is that no one can decry anything illegal but yet you are able to make those who know him/her cast suspicion about him/her.

2) Attack the person’s integrity. If that doesn’t work, attack the person’s spouse integrity. For example, if the person’s spouse is a spy, expose the spouse. However, make sure you use “anonymous sources” when doing it so that you can’t be traced.

3) Put the person on “no fly list”. The beauty is that the accountability cannot be traced back and that the person has no way to remove him/her!

4) Label the person as a terrorist and put him/her in prison. Person can be imprisoned indefinteily on the pretense that s/he is a terrorist. However, this only works if the person is found in the Middle East. I think a secret operation to make the person mysteriously show up in Middle East is needed.

]]> By: Nick http://www.n-line.co.uk/2005/06/07/new_web_censorship_laws_for_china/#comment-22 Nick Tue, 07 Jun 2005 21:04:28 +0000 http://www.n-line.co.uk/blog/?p=44#comment-22 Having said that don't forget we are talking about a country that was determined enough to install a universal firewall that <em>tries</em> (but fails) to block "unsuitable" content from abroad... Although the BBC isn't blocked anymore (at least not last time I tried) however, I'm led to believe that certain pages on the BBC site <b>are</b> blocked. Having said that don’t forget we are talking about a country that was determined enough to install a universal firewall that tries (but fails) to block “unsuitable” content from abroad…

Although the BBC isn’t blocked anymore (at least not last time I tried) however, I’m led to believe that certain pages on the BBC site are blocked.

]]> By: Rob http://www.n-line.co.uk/2005/06/07/new_web_censorship_laws_for_china/#comment-21 Rob Tue, 07 Jun 2005 20:57:19 +0000 http://www.n-line.co.uk/blog/?p=44#comment-21 People (where people means people trying to control content) seem to forget that, given a simple secure connection, of ANY kind, just about ANY information can be sent. Assuming public key cryptography really is secure (and we have no reason to believe it is not), then anyone can channel anything over a secure tunnel, and noone has any way of telling what sort of information it is. So, unless China plan to block all secure connections entirely (and even then, this is difficult - consider sending secure traffic over normal HTTP protocol), there's no way they can stop it leaving the country. And like you say, once it's out, it's out. I wouldn't be surprised if companies start springing up outside of China offering secure connections for hosting blogs and the like to people inside China. Hmm, maybe I should do that... However, "...would require the US to participate and that is never going to happen, at least not unless they prune their freedom of speech provisions from their constitution..." - they seem to be trying fairly hard to do this anyway, so maybe China will just have to leave the US to its own devices for a couple of years before they push for international regulation ;-) People (where people means people trying to control content) seem to forget that, given a simple secure connection, of ANY kind, just about ANY information can be sent. Assuming public key cryptography really is secure (and we have no reason to believe it is not), then anyone can channel anything over a secure tunnel, and noone has any way of telling what sort of information it is. So, unless China plan to block all secure connections entirely (and even then, this is difficult - consider sending secure traffic over normal HTTP protocol), there’s no way they can stop it leaving the country.

And like you say, once it’s out, it’s out. I wouldn’t be surprised if companies start springing up outside of China offering secure connections for hosting blogs and the like to people inside China. Hmm, maybe I should do that…

However, “…would require the US to participate and that is never going to happen, at least not unless they prune their freedom of speech provisions from their constitution…” - they seem to be trying fairly hard to do this anyway, so maybe China will just have to leave the US to its own devices for a couple of years before they push for international regulation ;-)

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