Editing Internet censorship in China (section)

==International influence==
{{Main|Chinese censorship abroad}}
Foreign content providers such as [[Yahoo!]], [[AOL]], and [[Skype]] must abide by Chinese government wishes, including having internal content monitors, to be able to operate within mainland China. Also, per mainland Chinese laws, [[Microsoft]] began to censor the content of its blog service [[Windows Live Spaces]], arguing that continuing to provide Internet services is more beneficial to the Chinese.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/krumholtz/02-15WrittenTestimony.mspx|title= Congressional Testimony: "The Internet in China: A Tool for Freedom or Suppression?"|access-date= 30 August 2006|publisher= Microsoft.com|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061128145545/http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/krumholtz/02-15WrittenTestimony.mspx|archive-date= 28 November 2006|url-status= dead|df= dmy-all}}</ref> Chinese journalist [[Michael Anti (journalist)|Michael Anti]]'s blog on [[Windows Live Spaces]] was censored by Microsoft. In an April 2006 e-mail panel discussion [[Rebecca MacKinnon]], who reported from China for nine years as a Beijing bureau chief for CNN, said: "... many bloggers said he [Anti] was a necessary sacrifice so that the majority of Chinese can continue to have an online space to express themselves as they choose. So the point is, compromises are being made at every level of society because nobody expects political freedom anyway."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/internet/|title= Roundtable: The Struggle to Control Information|date= 11 April 2005|publisher= Frontline (PBS.org)|access-date= 1 September 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110603072459/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/internet/|archive-date= 3 June 2011|url-status= live}}</ref>

The Chinese version of [[Myspace]], launched in April 2007, has many censorship-related differences from other international versions of the service. Discussion forums on topics such as religion and politics are absent and a filtering system that prevents the posting of content about politically sensitive topics has been added.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://texyt.com/MySpace+China+censors+politics+religion+064|title= MySpace now available in China – minus politics and religion|first= Lu |last=Enjie|date= 26 April 2007|publisher= Texyt.com|access-date= 28 April 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110501202556/http://texyt.com/MySpace+China+censors+politics+religion+064|archive-date= 1 May 2011|url-status= live}}</ref> Users are also given the ability to report the "misconduct" of other users for offenses including "endangering national security, leaking state secrets, subverting the government, undermining national unity, spreading rumors or disturbing the social order."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wwwcn.myspace.cn/Modules/Common/Pages/TermsConditions.aspx |title=MySpace.cn使用协议条款 |access-date=28 April 2007 |publisher=MySpace.cn |language=zh |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429021821/http://wwwcn.myspace.cn/Modules/Common/Pages/TermsConditions.aspx |archive-date=29 April 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Some media have suggested that China's Internet censorship of foreign websites may also be a means of forcing mainland Chinese users to rely on China's e-commerce industry, thus self-insulating their economy from the dominance of international corporations.<ref name="Newsvine">{{cite web|url=http://tomcarter.newsvine.com/_news/2007/02/15/569719-the-chinese-internet-crash-of-2007-calamity-or-capitalism |title=The Chinese Internet Crash of 2007 – Calamity or Capitalism? |access-date=5 September 2008 |last=Carter |first=Tom |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206045734/http://tomcarter.newsvine.com/_news/2007/02/15/569719-the-chinese-internet-crash-of-2007-calamity-or-capitalism |archive-date=6 December 2007 }}</ref> On 7 November 2005 an alliance of investors and researchers representing 26 companies in the U.S., Europe and Australia with over US$21 billion in joint assets announced<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,69508,00.html |title=Money's Nice, but Freedom's Nicer |magazine=WIRED |access-date=22 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208104410/http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,69508,00.html |archive-date=8 February 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> that they were urging businesses to protect freedom of expression and pledged to monitor technology companies that do business in countries violating human rights, such as China. On 21 December 2005 the UN, [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe|OSCE]] and [[Organization of American States|OAS]] special mandates on freedom of expression called on Internet corporations to "work together ... to resist official attempts to control or restrict the use of the Internet."<ref>UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, and the OAS Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression (21 December 2005). [http://www.article19.org/pdfs/standards/three-mandates-dec-2005.pdf International Mechanisms for Promoting Freedom of Expression.]  [https://web.archive.org/web/20060103114713/http://www.article19.org/pdfs/standards/three-mandates-dec-2005.pdf Archived.] from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2021.</ref> Google finally responded when attacked by hackers rumored to be hired by the Chinese government by threatening to pull out of China.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-03-23 |title=China slams Google censoring move |language=en-GB |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8582233.stm |access-date=2023-12-28 |archive-date=25 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625141215/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8582233.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2006, [[Reporters Without Borders]] wrote that it suspects that regimes such as [[Censorship in Cuba|Cuba]], [[Censorship in Zimbabwe|Zimbabwe]], and [[Censorship in Belarus|Belarus]] have obtained surveillance technology from China.<ref name="cubaonline">{{cite web|url=http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/rapport_gb_md_1.pdf |title=Going online in Cuba: Internet under surveillance |publisher=Reporters Without Borders |year=2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303221407/http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/rapport_gb_md_1.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

=== Chinese social media platforms ===
With the proliferation of Chinese social media platforms such as [[TikTok]], [[WeChat]], [[Tencent QQ|QQ]], [[Sina Weibo|Weibo]] and [[Xiaohongshu]] (RED) abroad, concerns have been raised about data harvesting by Chinese technology firms since such companies are registered in China and therefore fall under the jurisdiction of [[Chinese law]], requiring access to data without warrant when requested by Chinese intelligence and public security authorities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leaked Audio From 80 Internal TikTok Meetings Shows That US User Data Has Been Repeatedly Accessed From China |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emilybakerwhite/tiktok-tapes-us-user-data-china-bytedance-access |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=BuzzFeed News |date=17 June 2022 |language=en |archive-date=24 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624025154/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emilybakerwhite/tiktok-tapes-us-user-data-china-bytedance-access |url-status=live }}</ref> Concern has also grown about the spread of Chinese language disinformation and propaganda on platforms targeted at overseas [[Overseas Chinese|Chinese diaspora]] communities and the potential to sow discord and unrest towards host nation states and societies in addition to the exporting of Chinese censorship practices abroad, preventing the exercise of free speech by Chinese communities even when physically outside China.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-19 |title=Concerns over China's access to WeChat user data: report |url=https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/concerns-over-china-s-access-to-wechat-user-data-report-20220615-p5au04 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Australian Financial Review |language=en |archive-date=13 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913121301/https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/concerns-over-china-s-access-to-wechat-user-data-report-20220615-p5au04 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=China Intercepts WeChat Texts From U.S. And Abroad, Researchers Say |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/08/29/751116338/china-intercepts-wechat-texts-from-u-s-and-abroad-researcher-says |access-date=2022-09-13 |archive-date=13 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913121320/https://www.npr.org/2019/08/29/751116338/china-intercepts-wechat-texts-from-u-s-and-abroad-researcher-says |url-status=live }}</ref>