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Great firewall of China: Xi Jinping stresses party control of the internet must never be challenged

If you want to surf the web in China, President Xi will determine where you can roam, what you can read and what you can say.

If you want to surf the web in China, President Xi will determine where you can roam, what you can read and what you can say. Photo: AAP

In a statement of intention to further regulate, filter, monitor and control internet use, President Xi Jinping says China must build a “solid” online security barrier under the direct supervision of the ruling Communist Party,

“We must adhere to the Party’s management of the internet,” state-run Xinhua news agency cited Xi as saying.

In the past decade, Xi has made preserving “security” a priority, with his concept of security covering everything from politics and the economy to the environment and cyberspace.

In 2015, China passed a national security law with a broader scope to include its cyberspace. A year later, a law was passed that contained requirements for security reviews and for data to be stored on servers in China.

In 2021, China rolled out regulations around so-called “critical information infrastructure”.

This year, lawmakers updated anti-espionage legislation to ban the transfer of information related to national security and broaden the definition of spying.

Rules, laws … and more rules

Navigating China’s dense network of rules and laws on online data and information is not without risk for companies.

In April, US consultancy firm Bain & Co said police visited its office in Shanghai and questioned some staff. The Financial Times, citing people briefed on the surprise visit, reported that the police also took away computers and phones.

Last year, regulators told China’s biggest financial data provider, Wind Information, to stop providing offshore users with certain data, sources told Reuters at the time.

In 2021, authorities launched a cybersecurity investigation into ride-hailing giant Didi Global two days after it went public in the United States.

-AAP

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