China is actively trying to export its internal internet governance model, according to a paper from the International Cyber Policy Centre at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Titled “China’s cyber vision: How the Cyberspace Administration of China is building a new consensus on global internet governance”, the paper outlines how China perceives sovereignty over its internet as having equivalent importance to sovereignty over its territory.
Recent data security initiatives that restrict Chinese data from going offshore, and crackdowns on tech giants, are both expressions of Beijing’s desire to ensure that the Communist Party of China (CCP) can control the internet within China’s borders.
Pervasive censorship with the Great Firewall is another element, as are the blizzard of new rules covering acceptable online content (another dropped yesterday, restricting how celebrities can behave online as they engage with fans).