The great firewall of China : how to build and control an alternative version of the internet

Introduction: Early warnings. Part one. Wall. Protests: solidarity from Hong Kong to Tiananmen -- Over the wall: China's first email and the rise of the online censor -- Nailing the jello: Chinese democracy and the Great Firewall -- Enemy at the gates: how fear of Falun Gong boosted the Firewall -- Searching for an opening: Google, Yahoo and Silicon Valley's moral failing in China -- Part two. Shield. Along came a spider: Lu Wei reins in the Chinese internet -- Peak traffic: Getting the Dalai Lama online -- Filtered: The firewall catches up with Da Cankao -- Jumping the wall: FreeGate, UltraSurf, and Falun Gong's fight against the censors -- Called to account: Silicon Valley's reckoning on Capitol Hill -- Part three. Sword. Uyghurs online: Ilham Tohti and the birth of the Uyghur internet -- Shutdown: how to take 20 million people offline -- Ghosts in the machine: Chinese hackers expand the Firewall's reach -- NoGuGe: The ignominious end of Google China -- The social network: Weibo and the last free-speech platform -- Gorillas in the mist: Exposing China's hackers to the world -- Part four. War. Caught: the death of the Uyghur internet -- Key opinion leader: how Chinese trolls go after dissidents overseas -- Root and stem: the internet is more vulnerable than you think -- The censor at the UN: China's undermining of global internet freedoms -- Sovereignty: when Xi Jinping came for the internet -- Friends in Moscow: the Great Firewall goes west -- Plane crash: China helps Russia bring Telegram to heel -- One app to rule them all: how WeChat opened up new frontiers of surveillance and censorship -- Buttocks: Uganda's internet blackouts follow Beijing's lead -- Epilogue: Silicon Valley won't save you.;Griffiths exposes the world's biggest and most sophisticated system of internet censorship. He describes how China did the impossible and built a controlled, warped version of the internet. Griffiths also explains how the vision of the web as a force for democracy and freedom failed, and the censors, far from retreating, are on the advance. Once little more than a glorified porn filter, China's 'Great Firewall' has evolved into the most sophisticated system of online censorship in the world. Even as the Chinese internet grows and online businesses thrive, speech is controlled, dissent quashed, and any attempts to organize outside the official Communist Party are quickly stamped out. Some are able to bypass the wall using VPNs, but this creates further a further divide between an intellectual class and the population at large, as those without the resources or digital knowhow are left in the dark. And there are hints that President Xi Jinping will soon fill in these leaks in the wall. As censorship, distortion, and fake news gain traction around the world, James Griffiths takes a look inside the Great Firewall and explores just how far it has spread. He looks at how internet giants like Google and Facebook are bowing to pressure and agreeing to compromise internet freedoms in pursuit of the burgeoning Chinese market. Griffiths also shows how the spread of Chinese influence around the globe is tied to an increasing worldwide crackdown in online freedom. One of China's most insidious exports are its censorship techniques, and its Firewall is an inspiration for aspiring autocrats the world over. Griffiths pushes back on the longstanding excuse that the internet is too big to be contained and makes the case that censorship tools are becoming more sophisticated at the very same time that users are becoming more complacent. His book is a caution to anyone who believes in a free and open internet and call to action for a radical new vision of online liberty. / Produktinformation ' Readers will come away startled at just how fragile the online infrastructure we all depend on is and how much influence China wields – both technically and politically' – Jason Q. Ng, author of Blocked on Weibo 'An urgent and much needed reminder about how China's quest for cyber sovereignty is undermining global Internet freedom' – Kristie Lu Stout, CNN 'An important and incisive history of the Chinese internet that introduces us to the government officials, business leaders, and technology activists struggling over access to information within the Great Firewall' – Adam M. Segal, author of The Hacked World Order Once little more than a glorified porn filter, China's 'Great Firewall' has evolved into the most sophisticated system of online censorship in the world. As the Chinese internet grows and online businesses thrive, speech is controlled, dissent quashed, and attempts to organise outside the official Communist Party are quickly stamped out. But the effects of the Great Firewall are not confined to China itself. Through years of investigation James Griffiths gained unprecedented access to the Great Firewall and the politicians, tech leaders, dissidents and hackers whose lives revolve around it. As distortion, post-truth and fake news become old news James Griffiths shows just how far the Great Firewall has spread. Now is the time for a radical new vision of online liberty. Once little more than a glorified porn filter, Chinas Great Firewall has evolved into the most sophisticated system of online censorship in the world. Even as the Chinese internet grows and online businesses thrive, speech is controlled, dissent quashed, and any attempts to organise outside the official Communist Party are quickly stamped out. But the effects of the Great Firewall are not confined to China itself. More and more, China is threatening global internet freedoms as it seeks to shore up its censorship regime, with methods that are providing inspiration for aspiring autocrats the world over. As censorship, distortion and fake news gain traction around the world, and internet giants such as Facebook show ever greater willingness to compromise internet freedoms in pursuit of the Chinese market, James Griffiths takes a look inside the Great Firewall and explores just how far it has spread, arguing that its influence can only be countered by initiating a radical new vision of online liberty. "China's 'Great Firewall' has evolved into the most sophisticated system of online censorship in the world. As the Chinese internet grows and online businesses thrive, speech is controlled, dissent quashed, and attempts to organise outside the official Communist Party are quickly stamped out. Updated throughout and available in paperback for the first time, The Great Firewall of China draws on James Griffiths' unprecedented access to the Great Firewall and the politicians, tech leaders, dissidents and hackers whose lives revolve around it. New chapters cover the suppression of information about the first outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, disinformation campaigns in response to the exposure of the persecution of Uyghur communities in Xinjiang and the crackdown against the Umbrella movement in Hong Kong."-- "Once little more than a glorified porn filter, China's 'Great Firewall' has evolved into the most sophisticated system of online censorship in the world. As the Chinese internet grows and online businesses thrive, speech is controlled, dissent quashed, and attempts to organise outside the official Communist Party are quickly stamped out. But the effects of the Great Firewall are not confined to China itself. Through years of investigation James Griffiths gained unprecedented access to the Great Firewall and the politicians, tech leaders, dissidents and hackers whose lives revolve around it. As distortion, post-truth and fake news become old news James Griffiths shows just how far the Great Firewall has spread. Now is the time for a radical new vision of online liberty"--Publisher's website "Griffiths exposes the world's biggest and most sophisticated system of internet censorship. He describes how China did the impossible and built a controlled, warped version of the internet. Griffiths also explains how the vision of the web as a force for democracy and freedom failed, and the censors, far from retreating, are on the advance."--Adapté du résumé de l'éditeur et de l'introduction (page 11)