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Net Police, Red and in Bed
WSJ, 15 February 1996:
China Tells Internet Users To Register With Police
Beijing (AP) - China ordered all users of the Internet and
other international computer networks to register with the
police, as part of an effort to tighten control over
information.
The order came in a circular issued by the Ministry of
Public Security, according to the state-run Xinhua News
Agency.
Xinhua didn't give a date by which current users must
register but said new users and those switching or
terminating services must inform police within 30 days. It
was unclear how foreigners would be affected.
The rules haven't been published in detail, but previous
Xinhua reports warned network users not to harm national
security, reveal state secrets or disseminate pornography.
China embarked on a broad crackdown on Internet users and
other sources of information potentially harmful to
government interests in December.
The Ministry of Post Telecommunications was made the sole
provider of channels connecting Chinese computer users with
international networks.
-----
Financial Times, 15 February, 1996
Cyberlaws [Editorial]
Communication *sans frontieres*. To the Internet's fans
that is the essence of its appeal. But to anyone putting
information on the Internet's World Wide Web, its global
nature is the cause of a growing headache: how to uphold
intellectual property rights to the rivers of information
pouring over its wires.
Online computer systems such as the Net are among the
fastest growing ways to distribute information -- music and
pictures as well as words and numbers. But existing
copyright laws deal inadequately with digital transmission.
Regulation is complicated by the way that information
downloaded in one country can have originated almost
anywhere in the world. The $35bn-a-year music industry now
believes that digital copyright abuse is a big future
threat to its revenues.
The century-old Berne convention on copyright and the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade represent a degree
of international agreement on the treatment of such issues.
However, many countries are not signatories, while
standards of intellectual property protection vary widely
among those which have signed.
Moreover, there are technological problems in enforcing
agreements even where they exist. At present, it is often
difficult to identify both those who have accessed
information, and those who have entered it on the Net.
Given that problem, some groups want companies providing
Internet access to be responsible for upholding rules,
rather than users or publishers. But this is highly
unattractive: service providers will be unaware of much on
the Net.
The currently imperfect state of protection is one reason
why much cyberinformation is junk, of value to almost
nobody, deposited partly to stir up interest in paidfor
services beyond the Net. However, new ways to restrict
access to parts of the Net, and to charge for subscriptions
to that information, may address that shortcoming.
Companies are also working on "electronic tags" which will
show whether information is passed to unauthorised users.
If such technological developments bear fruit, the whole
game may change. The mainstay of the Internet may no longer
be information already published in another medium.
Instead, publishers could put material of real value on the
Net, knowing they would be paid. Other media may be
squeezed as the Internet assumes some of their role.
In this respect, copyright problems are a symptom of the
Internet's immaturity, rather than a sign that electronic
sophistication has made regulation impossible. The Net
itself is a creation of technology, not policy, and the
solutions to this problem are more likely to be
technological than legal. But solutions must be found if
the Net is to realise its enormous commercial potential.
-----
FT has a front page article on what China may do if
the US imposes sanctions for copyright violations. It
includes overtures by the Chinese to Britain to reap the
benefits of shutting down US businesses in retaliation.
Noting the well-oiled handover of Hong Kong to China as
an example of the mutual benefits of imperialist most-
favored status, and sharing tips and tricks of crackdown
on civil disorder.