Skip to main content

WTO To Take on The Great Firewall of China?

Image used with permission by copyright holder

China’s Web censorship regime hasn’t earned it many friends in the west, with major gaffes surrounding things like the presses access to the Internet at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government using information from firms like Yahoo to jail Chinese bloggers, the regular and consistent suppression of information the Chinese government deems dangerous or inappropriate, and possibly even computer espionage against firms like Google…which has made the search giant scale back its China operations and move its Chinese search engine to Hong Kong.

Now, speaking at the Chinese headquarters of the video sharing outfit Tudou—YouTube is blocked in China—European Commission vice president Neelie Kroes has painted China’s Internet censorship regime as a barrier to trade, since it block the free flow of information to China’s vast population of Internet users. And one way to bring down that firewall? Through the processes of the World Trade Organization.

Recommended Videos

If Kroes follows through, the move could put added pressure on China to loosen or remove restrictions on Web content and Internet services in the country. Currently, a number of service that are popular in the west are completely banned in China, including things like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr, partially out of fear the platforms might present a mechanism for dissidents to organize and/or share information the Chinese regime wants to suppress. Chinese law currently required Internet companies block or remove “objectionable” content—that includes things like pornography, but also statements critical of the Chinese government, in support of a free Tibet, information on the Falung Gong movement, and much more. Video sharing site Tudou says it removes some 100,000 videos from its service every month to comply with Chinese restrictions; some of the videos are pornographic, but many are political.

The United States has also considered bringing China’s Web censorship operations up before the WTO; if the WTO were to find the restrictions a barrier to free trade, China could be subject to WTO sanctions…which could significantly impact the country’s now-booming economy. However, in the past the WTO has upheld Chinese policies of censoring print and broadcast media.

Geoff Duncan
Former Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
Topics
The robot takeover comes another step closer — at Amazon
An Amazon robot working inside one of the company's warehouses.

Amazon is close to having more robots operating inside its warehouses than humans after the e-commerce giant announced this week that it now has more than a million robots working at its facilities around the world.

Over the years, Amazon has spent billions of dollars on the development and deployment of warehouse-based robots, which handle an array of tasks once performed by human workers.

Read more
This Lenovo ThinkPad laptop is over $1,400 off — hurry while stocks last!
The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 Intel laptop on a white background.

Now's an excellent time to take advantage of laptop deals from Lenovo, which has slashed the prices of a wide range of devices for its Black Friday in July sale. Lenovo's ThinkPad laptops are up to 45% off, and here's one of the most interesting offers available with such a discount — the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 at $1,440 off its estimated value of $3,199, so you'll only have to pay $1,759. That's an excellent price for this fantastic productivity tool, but you're going to have to push forward with your purchase as soon as possible because stocks may run out at any moment.

BUY NOW

Read more
Early Prime Day deal: Samsung’s 27-inch Odyssey G3 at its annual low price
Samsung Odyssey G3 gaming monitor on desk with keyboard and headset.

If you're ready to upgrade your monitor, this Samsung deal over at Amazon just might be your best bet. The 27-inch version of Samsung's Odyssey G3 is $130 right now, a full $100 off its regular $230 price and its lowest price of the year. It's a part of early Prime Day deals and a good sampling of what we can expect for the shopping holiday, which officially lands on July 8th. Tap the button below to see it for yourself or keep reading to see why we like this deal and why this should be your next monitor.

Buy Now

Read more