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August 1996
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International Features
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Asian Internet Fever
/ Government Censorship
Some countries block "politically sensitive" information.
The Asia-wide backbone will boost Internet access and commerce in the region, but it has the potential to also bring more government censorship. Asian Internet service providers (ISPs) in some nations already use filtering techniques to block "illegal addresses" containing material judged to be pornographic or politically sensit
ive. But regional backbone links between nations will certainly provide better security controls to check for "Internet abuses," according to one ISP in the region.
Some governments are even setting up their own ISPs to control information. China Internet
Corp. (CIC), a Hong Kong-based provider run by China's official mouthpiece, the Xinhua News Agency, was launched late last year by the government to be a gatekeeper in China. CIC, which is expected to have more than 200,000 subscribers in China by the end of the year, provides information on trade in China for the outside world, but it blocks or "filters" allegedly obscene content, on-line services of exiled Chinese dissident groups, and other political material.
Matthew Wilson more...
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Government Censorship
