Tracing the route of China’s Internet censorship: An empirical study

Faced with the world’s largest Internet population, the Chinese government is torn between its massive drive for marketization and the need to curb cyber dissent. This paper investigates how the Chinese state censors the Internet by tracing the trajectory of mechanisms to block websites non grata. Results show that Chinese government’s Internet control methods are diverse with systematic collaborations from local authorities at various administrative levels. We also found evidence that the government has customized blocking strategies for what it considers to be important websites. The efficacy and implications of China’s Internet censorship system were also discussed.

► This paper examines the control mechanisms of Internet censorship system in China.
► China’s Internet censorship system is hierarchically distributed at different levels.
► The system across operators and regions implements the unified control policy.
► Websites are filtered with diverse filtering mechanisms.
► The system also specially monitors important websites to ensure effectiveness.