Internet Censorship: An Integrative Review of Technologies Employed to Limit Access to the Internet, Monitor User Actions, and their Effects on Culture

The following conducts an integrative review of the current state of Internet Censorship in China, Iran, and Russia, highlights common circumvention technologies (CTs), and analyzes the effects Internet Censorship has on cultures. The author spends a large majority of the paper delineating China’s Internet infrastructure and prevalent Internet Censorship Technologies/Techniques (ICTs), paying particular attention to how the ICTs function at a technical level. The author further analyzes the state of Internet Censorship in both Iran and Russia from a broader perspective to give a better understanding of Internet Censorship around the globe. The author also highlights specific CTs, explaining how they function at a technical level. Findings indicate that among all three nation-states, state control of Internet Service Providers is the backbone of Internet Censorship. Specifically, within China, it is discovered that the infrastructure functions as an Intranet, thereby creating a closed system. Further, BGP Hijacking, DNS Poisoning, and TCP RST attacks are analyzed to understand their use-case within China. It is found that Iran functions much like a weaker version of China in regards to ICTs, with the state seemingly using the ICT of Bandwidth Throttling rather consistently. Russia’s approach to Internet censorship, in stark contrast to Iran and China, is found to rely mostly on the legislative system and fear to implement censorship, though their technical level of ICT implementation grows daily. TOR, VPNs, and Proxy Servers are all analyzed and found to be robust CTs. Drawing primarily from the examples given throughout the paper, the author highlights the various effects of Internet Censorship on culture – noting that at its core, Internet Censorship destroys democracy

Impact of Covid-19, Economic, Racial and Political Tensions on Chinese Student Pursuit of Education in US

Chinese international students account for a significant portion of the US higher education system This impact is amplified by the fact that many of these students are paying higher out of state tuition costs that many universities rely on to meet their pecuniary needs This past year has undergone significant changes in the area of China-US relations which could jeopardize the prior model used by US universities This article examines four of the key political issues affecting the China-US relationship and measures the extent Chinese students are influenced by these factors when deciding to pursue education in the US The four factors analyzed are the US Covid-19 situation the China-US trade war the social upheaval associated with the Black Lives Matter movement and the most recent political tensions between the US and China This study also compares results to research extrapolated from the same population a year earlier to assess any change over time Key findings indicate that only about half as many students are willing to consider studying in the US and that Covid-19 seems to be the most influential factor in most student s reasonin

User Perceptions of Information Quality in China: The Boomerang Decade

China has adopted and implemented the Internet as a vehicle for economic development during the past several decades. As this has occurred, the Chinese national government has sought to control access to information in various ways over time. As political philosophies have changed over time, so has control over the ways in which users are able to publish and access information through the Internet in China. This study examines user perceptions of information quality in China over the decade beginning in 2007 and ending in 2017. Data were collected three times at five-year intervals. The results show that user perceptions have changed in a way that is consistent with changes in control over use of the Internet in China during this ten-year period. Specifically, user perceptions of information quality along a number of dimensions are similar at the beginning and end of this decade and either significantly higher or lower in the middle of the decade in ways that are consistent with Chinese control of the Internet in the middle of this decade. Our research shows that users are sensitive to information quality issues in that the changes in Chinese Internet users’ perceptions have shifted in parallel with public events and governmental practices. China is a prototypical case of tight government control of the Internet. The findings of this study shed light on user perceptions in one society of this type. In the long run, information providers should strive to provide high quality information as a strategy for mitigating the effects of fake news

Self-censorship in social networking sites (SNSs) – privacy concerns, privacy awareness, perceived vulnerability and information management

Purpose This paper aims to investigate behavioural changes related to self-censorship (SC) in social networking sites (SNSs) as new methods of online surveillance are introduced. In particular, it examines the relationships between SC and four related factors: privacy concerns (PC), privacy awareness (PA), perceived vulnerability (PV) and information management (IM). Design/methodology/approach A national wide survey was conducted in the UK (N = 519). The data were analysed to present both descriptive and inferential statistical findings. Findings The level of online SC increases as the level of privacy concern increases. The level of privacy concern increases as the levels of PA and PV increase and the level of effective IM decreases. Originality/value This study extends the literature on online SC, showing that PCs increase the level of SC in SNSs. It provides support for three antecedent factors to PC which impact upon levels of SC when communicating in SNSs

Visual Social Media and Vernacular Responses to Environmental Issues in China

This thesis investigates the role of visual social media in providing ordinary Chinese with an alternative space to articulate their opinions on environmental issues. By studying three notable environmental cases, this thesis explores how ordinary Chinese adopt visual social media practices as a response to environmental issues, and to aid in the fight for environmental justice. This thesis provides a new perspective to understand China’s visual social media practices and its networked civic engagement