Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Internet Governance in China: A Content Analysis

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook of Local Governance in Contemporary China

Abstract

Using content analysis, this chapter explores the policy-making trends for Internet governance in China. It examines the manner by which policy changes over time, the different policy-making agencies in the country, and the various application scopes and topical focuses of policy. This chapter aims to determine the distribution of key policy decisions over different policy-making agencies and which policy issues receive the most attention from China’s government in its efforts to regulate the Internet.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    See “Across the Great Wall we can reach every corner in the world” http://tech.sina.com.cn/i/2005-07-19/1038666886.shtml.

  2. 2.

    A cyber citizen (wangmin) is defined by the CNNIC as any Chinese citizen aged six or older who has used the Internet in the past half year.

  3. 3.

    State Council Information Office (2010, June 8). The Internet in China. Retrieved from http://english.gov.cn/2010-06/08/content_1622956_2.htm.

  4. 4.

    In the first plenary session of the 12th National People’s Congress in March 2013, the government decided to merge the SARFT and GAPP to form a new regulatory body, the State Administration of Press, Publications, Radio, Film, and Television. The new agency falls under the purview of the NCAC. The SARFT, GAPP, and NCAC have their own websites.

  5. 5.

    C14: NAPSS, as an institution, is responsible for protecting classified information; it does not have its own website.

  6. 6.

    State Council (25 September 2000). Measures for the Administration of Internet information services. Retrieved from http://tradeinservices.mofcom.gov.cn/en/b/2000-09-25/18565.shtml.

References

  • Arsène, S. 2012 May. The impact of China on global Internet governance in an era of privatized control. Paper presented at Chinese Internet Research Conference, Los Angeles, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bi, J. 2001. The Internet Revolution in China: The Significance for Traditional forms of Communist Control. International Journal 56(3): 421–441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyarski, J. R., H. R. Goldstein, J. E. Lawrence, and J. Linn. 2001. China’s new Internet regulations may disadvantage small Internet sites. Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal 13(1): 21–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Budd, R. W., R. K. Thorp, and L. Donohew. 1967. Content analysis of communications. New York: The Macmillan Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, X. 2011. Legal regulation of the Internet service. Available at http://www.lawtime.cn/info/lunwen/qitalw/2011062177439.html.

  • Cheung, A. S. 2009. China Internet going wild: Cyber-hunting versus privacy protection. Computer Law & Security Review 25(3): 275–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • China Internet Network Information Center. 2014. The 33rd statistical report on the Internet development in China. Available at http://cnnic.net/hlwfzyj/hlwxzbg/hlwtjbg/201403/P020140305346585959798.pdf.

  • Cullen, R., and P. D. Choy. 1999. The Internet in China. Columbia Journal of Asian Law 13(1): 99–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deibert, R., J. Palfrey, R. Rohozinski, and J. Zittrain. 2011. Access contested: Security, identity, and resistance in Asian cyberspace. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeNardis, L. 2010. The emerging field of Internet governance. Available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1678343.

  • Dodgson, C. 2000. Controlling Internet content. Communications International 27(5): 24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dong, F. 2012. Controlling the Internet in China: The real story. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 18(4): 403–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dowell, W. T. 2006. The Internet, censorship, and China. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs 7(2): 111–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fallows, J. 2008. The connection has been reset. The Atlantic Monthly 301(2): 64–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fu, H., and Y. Mou. 2010. An assessment of the 2008 telecommunications restructuring in China. Telecommunications Policy 34(10): 649–658.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herold, D. K. 2011. An inter-nation-al Internet: China’s contribution to global Internet governance? Available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1922725.

  • Hung, C. 2006. The politics of cyber participation in the PRC: The implications of contingency for the awareness of citizens’ rights. Issues and Studies 42(4): 137–173.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hung, C. 2012. China’s changing state-society relations in the Internet age: Case study of Zhao Zuohai. International Journal of China Studies 3(3): 363–381.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krippendorff, K. 2012. Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lai, L. S., and W. To. 2012. Internet diffusion in China: Economic and social implications. IT Professional 14(6): 16–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lapres, D. A. 2000. Legal dos and don’ts of web use in China. The China Business Review 27(2): 26–27, 64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leibold, J. 2011. Blogging alone: China, the Internet, and the democratic illusion? The Journal of Asian Studies 70(4): 1023–1041.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, H. 2009. Internet governance present situation, problems and public policy. In National Information Center of China (ed.). Chinese information almanac 2008. Beijing: Chinese Information Almanac Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, Y. 2008. Expectation and result of supervision on the content of the Chinese Internet—Facts and evaluation. Journal of Jiangsu Administration Institute 2: 90–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liang, B., and H. Lu. 2012. Fighting the obscene, pornographic, and unhealthy—An analysis of the nature, extent, and regulation of China’s online pornography within a global context. Crime, Law and Social Change 58(2): 111–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, C., and K. Jayakar. 2012. The evolution of telecommunications policy-making: Comparative analysis of China and India. Telecommunications Policy 36(1): 13–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Y. 2012. The rise of China and global Internet governance. China Media Research 8(2): 46–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luo, C. 2012. Freedom of expression and restriction in cyberspace. Wuhan University Law Review 30(4): 15–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ma, Z. 2004. Legal system of the information network security. Science-Technology and Law 3: 14–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, R. 2012. Consent of the networked: The worldwide struggle for Internet freedom. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, C., and L. Whalen. 2000. The Internet, e-social capital, and democratization in China. American Journal of Chinese Studies 7(1): 61–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mueller, M. L. 2010. Networks and states: The global politics of Internet governance. Cambridge, London: MIT Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mueller, M. L. 2012. China and global Internet governance: A tiger by the tail. In Deibert. R., J. Palfrey, R. Rohozinski, and J. Zittrain (eds.). Access contested: Security, identity, and resistance in Asian cyberspace. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mueller, M. L., J. Mathiason, and H. Klein. 2007. The Internet and global governance: Principles and norms for a new regime. Global Governance 13(2): 237–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mueller, M. L., and Z. Tan. 1997. China in the information age: Telecommunications and the dilemmas of reform. Westport, CT: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neuendorf, K. A. 2002. The content analysis guidebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ong, R. 2011. Recognition of the right to privacy on the Internet in China. International Data Privacy Law 1(3): 172–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rayburn, J. M., and C. Conrad. 2004. China’s Internet structure: Problems and control measures. International Journal of Management 21(4): 471–480.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed, K. M. 2000. From the great firewall of China to the Berlin firewall: The cost of content regulation on Internet commerce. The Transnational Lawyer 13(2): 451.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, S. 2010. Is the Internet a positive force in the development of civil society, a public sphere, and democratization in China? International Journal of Communication 4: 509–516.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tai, Z. 2010. Casting the ubiquitous net of information control: Internet surveillance in China from golden shield to green dam. International Journal of Advanced Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing 2(1): 53–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tan, Z. 1999. Regulating China’s Internet: Convergence toward a coherent regulatory regime. Telecommunications Policy 23(3–4): 261–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tong, Z., F. Yan, and J. Hao. 2008. Digital copyright protection in China. Publishing Research Quarterly 24(1): 48–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsui, L. 2005. Introduction: The sociopolitical Internet in China. China Information 19(2): 181–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, I., and L. Jia. 2007. Internet and self-regulation in China: The cultural logic of controlled commodification. Media Culture and Society 29(5): 772–789.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Working Group on Internet Governance. 2005. Report of the Working Group on Internet Governance. Available at http://www.itu.int/wsis/docs2/pc3/off5.pdf.

  • Wong, K., and A. Chiu. 2011. New domain name developments in China and Hong Kong. Available at http://www.mayerbrown.com/publications/New-Domain-Name-Developments-in-China-amp-Hong-Kong-01-06-2011/.

  • Wu, J., and S. Bai. 2009. The policy body and ability enhancement of China’s Internet controls. Heilongjiang Social Sciences 4: 45–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, W. 2009. The separation of Internet content regulation in the face of the convergence of information and communication technologies: The controversies, challenges and solutions for China. Canadian Social Science 5(1): 24–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xue, H. 2010. Privacy and personal data protection in China: An update for the year end 2009. Computer Law and Security Review: The International Journal of Technology and Practice 26(3): 284–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xue, H. 2012. China, law enforcement and DNS filtering: Uncertainties, questions and challenges. Available at http://wsms1.intgovforum.org/sites/default/files/China,%20Law%20Enforcement%20and%20DNS%20Filtering.pdf.

  • Yang, G. 2009. The power of the Internet in China: Citizen activism online. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ye, X., and R. Li. 2010. The status of network information security legal protection. Theory Research 11: 117–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, C., and Y. An. 2004. The legal protection of the information networks security. Computer Security 2: 1–2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, X., and C. Moussi. 2007. Level of Internet use by Chinese businesses: A preliminary study. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 6(4): 453–461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, Y. 2007. Technological empowerment: The Internet, state, and society in China. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zittrain, J., and B. Edelman. 2003. Internet filtering in China. IEEE Internet Computing 7(2): 70–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

    Feng Yang

  2. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Milton L. Mueller

Authors
  1. Feng Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Milton L. Mueller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

    Jianxing Yu

  2. Department of Political Science, and Center for US-China Policy Studies, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Sujian Guo

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Yang, F., Mueller, M.L. (2019). Internet Governance in China: A Content Analysis. In: Yu, J., Guo, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Local Governance in Contemporary China. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2799-5_22

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation