Summary
Highlights
In 2000, US President Bill Clinton believed that increasing trade with China and the spread of the internet would inevitably lead to political empowerment and democracy, making it impossible for the Chinese Communist Party to suppress information. He famously stated that trying to crack down on the internet would be like 'trying to nail Jell-O to the wall'.
The Chinese Communist Party's fear of dissent stemmed from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. When the internet began to spread, the party viewed it as a significant threat but was confident in its ability to control it, much like it had controlled other forms of media. In 1999, China began building the 'Great Firewall' to filter foreign internet traffic.
The Great Firewall works by routing all foreign internet traffic through three choke points, where software blocks websites deemed undesirable, such as foreign media. It also scans for anti-government keywords like 'corruption,' 'party leaders,' and 'Tiananmen Square,' blocking pages that contain them. Additionally, internal filters embedded in infrastructure detect and remove content soon after it's posted, and thousands of human censors report on coded language used to circumvent restrictions. This multi-layered approach aims to prevent the spread of criticism and mass organization.
When global tech companies like Google entered China, they were forced to comply with strict censorship rules. Google's eventual departure in 2010 allowed domestic companies like Baidu to flourish. The Chinese government then encouraged the development of its own social media platforms, which, without foreign competition, grew rapidly. These platforms, such as Tencent's WeChat, are mandated to censor themselves, employing automatic, human, and AI sensors to ensure compliance. This strategy not only saves the government money but also fosters innovation within a controlled environment, as exemplified by TikTok.
Contrary to initial Western predictions, the internet in China has not strengthened democracy but has instead become a powerful tool for authoritarian control. The Great Firewall has largely succeeded in preventing widespread protests like those seen in 1989. While temporary overwhelming of sensors occurred during the 2022 COVID lockdown protests, the party quickly reasserted control. The video concludes that the consensus view about the internet inevitably leading to democracy was wrong; it can, in fact, reinforce the opposite.