Chinese Internet: President Xi Wants “Cyber Sovereignty”
The internet can be both a wonderful and terrible thing, depending on what sites you frequent. It is host to adorable animal pictures and uplifting stories of human survival against overwhelming odds. It is also plays host to sites dedicated to bigotry and some truly disgusting content. And of course, there is plenty of, well, adult content to be found.
Not all content can be accessed easily, depending on where you live. Western nations have an easier time of it because we place such high importance on values such as freedom of speech. In other cultures, such as in Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China, values are very different and censorship is more accepted.
The president of China, Xi Jinping, is asking world leaders to accept individual nations rights to choose how to regulate content access. China is well-known for blocking many major websites such as Google and Facebook. Regional tensions also led to a temporary blocking of Amazon Japan. President Xi says that we should not try to force a single set of rules on the internet, but rather each country should be allowed to set its own rules.
If you are looking to expand your business ventures, especially if you are a primarily online business, such as Amazon, then it is important to keep up to date with what is happening in China and how their values may evolve. China’s relationships with other countries is also important, as seen with the blocking of several Japanese shopping websites. Will relations between China and your business’ country become tense? How much will this affect you?
If you have any questions or comments, get in touch, I will be glad to hear what you have to say.
