{"id":23135,"date":"2022-12-13T18:01:27","date_gmt":"2022-12-13T18:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/13\/following-massive-protests-against-covid-policies-chinese-government-again-ramping-up-its-censorship-efforts\/"},"modified":"2022-12-13T18:01:27","modified_gmt":"2022-12-13T18:01:27","slug":"following-massive-protests-against-covid-policies-chinese-government-again-ramping-up-its-censorship-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/13\/following-massive-protests-against-covid-policies-chinese-government-again-ramping-up-its-censorship-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"Following Massive Protests Against COVID Policies, Chinese Government Again Ramping Up Its Censorship Efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"

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from the pushing-back-against-the-pushback<\/i> dept<\/h3>\n

A deadly fire in an Urumqi apartment complex<\/a> has led to something rarely seen in China: massive protests across the nation against the Chinese government\u2019s actually draconian COVID restrictions. Most of the city of Urumqi is on lockdown, with residents banned from leaving their homes. These restrictions may have contributed to the death toll. Witnesses (and one video) claimed lockdown barriers prevented fire trucks from getting to the scene of the fire. <\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the country, people have been forced to sleep at work due to quarantine conditions. Others have been bused from their homes to quarantine facilities. Meanwhile, COVID numbers continue to climb, suggesting the recently instituted \u201czero COVID\u201d policies aren\u2019t actually addressing the problem.<\/p>\n

Starting in Urumqi, protests soon spread across the country. Faced with open expressions of anger, the Chinese government is reacting the way it always reacts when it is faced with dissent: by increasing the footprint of its jackboot.<\/p>\n

Internet and phone use<\/a> is heavily regulated (and heavily surveiled) in China. Whatever was already working is being intensified. And whatever hasn\u2019t been applied yet is being put into motion. No longer will it take creating or sharing content the government doesn\u2019t like to earn police visits, criminal charges, or both. Now, as CNN reports, it will only take a nearly passive sign of approval directed at content<\/a> the Chinese government dislikes to attract the government\u2019s negative attention.<\/p>\n

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Internet users in China will soon be held liable for liking posts deemed illegal or harmful, sparking fears that the world\u2019s second largest economy plans to control social media like never before<\/em>.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s internet watchdog is stepping up its regulation of cyberspace as authorities intensify their\u00a0crackdown<\/a>\u00a0on online dissent amid\u00a0growing public anger<\/a>\u00a0against the country\u2019s stringent Covid restrictions<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The new rules come into force from Dec. 15, as part of\u00a0a new set of guidelines<\/a>\u00a0published by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) earlier this month.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Chinese government would prefer an airtight stranglehold, and this is just some expected tightening of its grip. As the government has certainly noticed, the more it tries to censor, the more creative citizens are when circumventing the efforts. Rotated videos, screenshots of content, coded language<\/a>, unexpected communication platforms<\/a>\u2026 all of these help keep citizens one step ahead<\/a> of the censors.<\/p>\n

So, the rules continue to roll out. And they get more extreme with every iteration. <\/p>\n

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The regulation\u00a0<\/strong>is an updated\u00a0<\/strong>version of one previously published in\u00a02017<\/a>. For the first time, it states that \u201clikes\u201d of public posts must be regulated, along with other types of comments. Public accounts must also actively vet every comment under their posts.<\/em><\/p>\n

However, the rules didn\u2019t elaborate on what kind of content would be deemed\u00a0<\/strong>illegal or harmful.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This vagueness is a feature, not a bug. You\u2019ll know you\u2019ve violated the new rules when uniformed officers swing by the house to inform you that you\u2019ve violated them. The solution is to stop liking other people\u2019s posts: winning by not playing.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s an upside to China\u2019s ever-expanding censorship programs, especially when they\u2019re trailing ever-expanding dissent. Even China\u2019s massive surveillance apparatus can\u2019t possibly hope to catch them all.<\/p>\n

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However, analysts also questioned how practical it would be to carry out the newest rules, given that public anger is widespread and strict enforcement of these censorship requirements would consume significant resources.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is almost impossible to stop the spread of protest activities as the dissatisfaction continues to spread. The angry people can come up with all sorts of ways to communicate and express their feelings,\u201d Cheng said.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Chinese government has the power. But it also has billions of people to keep an eye on. Dissent will never be completely silenced. And as long as that\u2019s true, there\u2019s still hope for the nation.<\/p>\n

\nFiled Under: censorship<\/a>, china<\/a>, covid<\/a>, free speech<\/a>, intermediary liability<\/a>, internet<\/a>, protests<\/a>
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