December 4, 2002

Washington: As much as one-tenth of the internet's sites may be blocked by Chinese authorities as part of efforts to prevent access to information on dissidents, Taiwan, Tibet and other subjects, according to a US study released today.

The study by Harvard University's Berkman Centre for Internet and Society found more than 50,000 of some 200,000 websites tested were "inaccessible from at least one point in China on at least one occasion".

Using a more narrow definition of "blocked" sites, the study concluded that 18,931 websites were being kept out of view of Chinese web users.

Ben Edelman, a Harvard researcher and co-author of the report, said it is likely that a similar proportion applies to the internet as a whole.

"I do think it's highly likely that in the order of one-tenth of the internet is filtered by China, or recently has been," Edelman told AFP.

"That said, there are so many different ways to measure this effect ... that I hesitate to specify any single proportion."

The latest study was broader than prior surveys and gives perspective to scattered reports about websites that are filtered or blocked by China.

"We conclude that China does indeed block a range of web content beyond that which is sexually explicit," according to the report.

"For example, we found blocking of thousands of sites offering information about news, health, education, and entertainment, as well as some 3,284 sites from Taiwan."

The blocked sites also included those of US news organisations including ABC News and CBS News, the Alta Vista search engine, and a number of US universities.

[...]

Among news sites, the BBC site was consistently unavailable, with CNN, Time magazine, US-based Public Broadcasting System, the Miami Herald, and the Philadelphia Inquirer also often blocked.

"Of Google's top 100 results for news, 42 were blocked," the report found.

[...]

China, with an estimated 45 million internet users, has been widely criticized in the West for blocking websites and for jailing people for viewing banned sites and using the internet in anti-government activities.

Beijing is believed to routinely block a large number of foreign-based sites, primarily those featuring dissident views or banned groups such as the Falun Gong spiritual organisation, but also certain foreign news sites and pages showing pornography.

A recent report by the US-based Rand Corporation think tank found that the Beijing government had shifted its tactics to use more technology to filter out objectionable content, instead of relying solely on surveillance of users and seizure of equipment.

The Rand report released earlier this year found Chinese authorities now appear to have more effective technology for filtering out undesirable content.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/04/1038950082382.html