<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Tellingly, however, a United Nations conference on Internet governance that also finished this week reached a very different conclusion. In a sign that China is a long way from winning its argument, a 10-year UN review of the World Summit on the Information Society made no mention of Beijing\u2019s pet concept, \u201ccyber sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead the final UN document stressed a more open \u201cmulti-stakeholder\u201d approach to Internet governance. The approach is promoted by a wide range of developed and developing countries, and embraces civil society groups, technology nerds, and academics as well as governments.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is remarkable that we have a document that does not have the word \u2018sovereignty\u2019 in it despite many, many efforts over many months by China,\u201d says Peter Micek, a lawyer with Access Now, an international digital rights group.<\/p>\n
650 million people online<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Chinese government has made the Internet one of its top priorities. With over 650 million people online and four of the world\u2019s top ten Internet companies, Beijing has publicly set a course to be \u201can Internet superpower\u201d by the end of this decade.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarnessing cyberspace is central to the Communist party\u2019s policy,\u201d says Bill Bishop, a veteran China watcher and Internet entrepreneur. \u201cThey have a strategy \u2026 to harness the Internet for maximum value for government and business and to control any challenge\u201d from critics.<\/p>\n
Most countries in the world share the \u201cOne World, One Internet\u201d vision of ICANN, the non-profit that manages the World Wide Web through its stewardship of IP addresses. China, however, insists that each government enjoys the same sovereign rights in cyberspace as it does in its physical territory.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin Chinese territory, the Internet is under the jurisdiction of Chinese sovereignty,\u201d declared a 2010 government white paper here that first set out Beijing\u2019s position. That approach has since been bolstered by a slew of laws and regulations.<\/p>\n
China has been energetically promoting its view for several years, but the guest list at this week\u2019s Wuzhen conference suggests it has not yet gained much international traction.<\/p>\n
Though a scattering of prominent US Internet figures attended, including LinkedIn boss Reid Hoffman, the only foreign leaders to show up came from Russia, Pakistan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, none of which are countries known for encouraging freedom of expression.<\/p>\n
Seductive to authoritarians? <\/strong><\/p>\nThe timing of the meeting, which clashed with the UN summit in New York, \u201cdid not send a good message\u201d either, says Samantha Dickinson, an Internet governance consultant who has closely followed international negotiations on the subject. \u201cChina\u2019s message is all about cooperation with the rest of the world, but here it was in competition with the UN.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCyber sovereignty as China is using it is a dangerous concept,\u201d argues Eileen Donahoe, Director of Global Affairs at Human Rights Watch. She argues that Beijing has divorced its cyber concept from any of the human rights obligations that normally constrain sovereignty in the real world.<\/p>\n
That approach may be seductive to other authoritarian governments, especially those buying Chinese Internet hardware and censorship software. But it is not catching on more broadly \u201cand I don\u2019t think it will,\u201d says Ms. Donahoe, formerly a US ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.<\/p>\n
India and Brazil, for example, often align with China on other international issues. But they tend to be enthusiastic supporters of an open Internet, and most other developing countries have followed their lead.<\/p>\n
Indeed, in a surprising move, Beijing has itself taken some hesitant steps in the last year or so towards what is known as a \u201cmulti-stakeholder\u201d approach to Internet governance. Lu Wei, China\u2019s cyber security czar, has joined the governing body of Netmundial, a governance forum based on Western liberal principles, and Chinese organizations have begun participating more actively in ICANN, Ms. Dickinson notes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are learning to play the multi-stakeholder game so as to have more influence,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Critics fear that influence will be malign. \u201cThey are playing a long term game \u2026 pushing their agenda carefully, and it is quite possible that the openness and creativity we have enjoyed will be at risk,\u201d cautions Mr. Micek.<\/p>\n
Whether China is seeking to impose its values on the global Internet, or pursuing the more limited goal of securing international tolerance for its domestic policies, is not clear, says Dickinson.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have a strong line, but they are engaging\u201d with governments and citizen groups opposed to their line, she adds. \u201cThat\u2019s a start.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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