Consent of the Networked Review

After a long wait brought about by coursework texts, I finally finished Consent of the Networked by Rebecca MacKinnon yesterday (and recommended it to others). MacKinnon opened my eyes to many of the issues surrounding the internet and the numerous organizations trying to keep the net free for everyone. Many issues were raised by MacKinnon questioning the very current debate over identity-verification vs. anonymity, who controls the internet, and how can the internet be strengthened to ensure everyone, regardless of location or what governmental regime one may live under, has a right to a secure and safe internet. After reading this book I have a better grasp on the issues surrounding the internet, many of which complement the Human Flesh Search Engine debates over anonymity and the Chinese government's right (or non-right) to censor political discussion online.

A theme that ran throughout MacKinnon's book was the hypocrisy among western governments and companies between having a free internet while working to build and sell the digital shackles overseas. The book opens citing Apple's 1984 advertisement which claimed that the introduction of the Macintosh computer would not be like Orwell's 1984 - as Apple repeated again when it updated the advert in 2004 featuring it's iPod product (p. 3). However, in China Apple consents to the Chinese government's demand and it's app store censors its apps related to the Dali Lama and Uighur exiles. MacKinnon harks back to Apple's visionary 1984 ad by saying "fifteen years later, Apple seems quite willing to accommodate Big Brother's demands for the sake of market access" (p. 115).

Furthermore, while the US State Department works to fuel research and pumps funding into technologies to enable internet access around government "kill switches" and mobile blackouts during times of political unrest overseas, MacKinnon points out throughout the book that many US-based companies provide the technologies that countries such as Iran and China utilize to fuel their censors and firewalls. MacKinnon also notes protesters in countries who were met with tear gas only to later find "made in the US" labels on the empty canisters (p. 195).

One of the issues discussed deeply throughout the book was one's right to free speech and open access to one's content on the internet (p. 128). Should service providers or governments have the right and ability to remove content? While MacKinnon argued that the right should not be held by the companies or governments that at present hold control over the internet domain, as this greatly impacts social groups and activists working to enact change especially in repressive regimes. I disagree - I believe that certain websites and mobile apps should be taken down when they target specific groups or harm society at large. Recall a recent controversy in which an app was released (perhaps last summer?) titled along the lines of "how to tell if your son is gay." The app was deemed terribly offensive and taken offline. This also brings up the issue of kids who use these apps or view web content and cannot form their own opinions on what they view. Regardless of age warnings or restrictions, children view and are aware of this content.

Furthermore, while I agree that everyone should have the right to free speech on the internet, at present the boundaries of free speech, at least in America, are being pushed on a daily basis. In my opinion, freedom of speech in America has turned our nation into a land of slinging insults and legal bigotry, a political election environment that runs on finger pointing, and produced a media base that values nothing. Therefore I question is the internet should be the open space that we should be aspiring to make it. If that comes about, any Joe Schmo can post hate speech and hurt our social ideals while hiding behind the First Amendment.

Regardless, the internet is becoming globalized and as MacKinnon made evident, how can we make changes to the internet that appease everyone (and all governments/institutions too for that matter) (p. 146). Facebook, she writes, is working to break down barriers among people and Zuckerberg believes that one should know all the little details about the people surrounding them in their life. His aim is to make Facebook profile information and contacts less private. However MacKinnon notes that websites such as Google Plus and Facebook have changed their terms of service only to be met with extreme outrage from people across the globe who are affected by this demolition of privacy. A large rift is building between first world citizens who stalk co-workers and classmates on Facebook, from political activists using Facebook and Twitter to stage protests and call for change who need anonymity to remain out of the clutches of the regimes they aim to change. Therefore, Facebook's beliefs fuel how it can be used by others, but due to its choke-hold as being the foremost social media website, it is a much needed tool across the globe (p. 152).

And to tie this book back to the contents of this blog, MacKinnon alludes back to the Anti-CNN blog of 2008 in China and how Chinese netizens can actually work in favor of the Communist Party. As seen with the Human Flesh Search Engine, Chinese patriotism and nationalism can fuel participation on the internet and it becomes evident that their work is actually strengthening the Communist Party's rule. As pointed out in my research, with many injustices facing the Chinese people such as restrictions on freedom of speech, assembly, and rampant attacks on the environment by government-run corporations, netizens seek instead to oust low-level officials and seemingly anonymous individuals who they feel "embarrass" China. Why not bring the attack to Big Brother?

All in all, MacKinnon's book was what I'd hoped it to be: informative in documenting the various efforts to keep the internet open and the implications of having government control content online in this environment of internet empowerment and the translation of internet activism to the streets.

The Fat Years

Concluded reading The Fat Years by Chan Koonchung, an amazing work of fiction that eerily alludes to modern China and the nation's "harmonious" growth. Part mystery novel, part history lesson, part inner-look into a dystopian few-years-into-the-future China, Koonchung's novel is banned in mainland China and after reading the book it's not surprising. The plot focuses on a collective amnesia that has gripped China (set in 2013 after the fall of the US economy and China's "Golden Rise of Ascendancy") and a set of characters aiming to uncover 28 days that have gone missing from the public memory. The novel asks the question, based on the literary works of Lu Xun, plaguing the protagonist (Lao Chen): is it better to live in a good hell or a counterfeit paradise?

One of the novel's main characters, Little Xi, is a middle-aged Chinese woman who spends her time as an online activist, arguing via web forums and hiding behind anonymous user names throughout the novel. Whether Koonchung meant it or not, Little Xi turned out to be a great portrayal of the issues over anonymity on the web that are hitting China today, and how anonymity is one of the main means for Chinese to protest and speak out while living in the mainland. On page 178 Little Xi argues this point when she makes the claim that "the Internet is the people's Central Discipline Committee and virtual Public Security authorities."

"...The power of Western governments is given to them by the people, while in China the people's freedom is given to them by the government. Is this distinction really that important?" (146) The novel brought out many issues and had one liners that really forced the reader to contemplate China's future and stability. A theme that permeates the novel is whether or not Chinese should continue to remember the struggles of the past in the effort to move forward. The protagonist Lao Chen continually brings China's past political struggles to the reader's attention, particularly the Cultural Revolution and the Democracy Movement and economic openness of the decade following. One line in the book attributes these major events in China's political system to the changing personalities of its citizenry: "...he says that China's mentality transforms itself every few years" (122). The character who spoke this refers also to the return of Hong Kong (1997), SARS (2003), the Olympics (2008), among others.

The theme of increased freedoms (or lack thereof) brought to the reader's attention from this novel nicely compliments the editorial released yesterday by Ai Weiwei.

China's Cyberposse

I came across this article entitled "China's Cyberposse" that was published in early 2010 right after I completed my research thesis. Published by the New York Times, the article provides an overview to western audiences about the backbone of the Human Flesh Search Engine. While the article was published by the New York Times, however I was unable to gain access to the full article but found it copy and pasted onto this Chinese web forum. What surprised me about the article is that it both my thesis and the article open in very similar fashions with the case of Wang Jue: the Kitten Killer of Hangzhou. Furthermore, the article utilizes similar sources to the ones I analyzed and mentioned the same cases.

What I disliked about the article was that the author made a clear line drawn between western and Chinese internet - that this sort of phenomena would not happen in the west. I beg to differ, I believe that while the social aspects and historical perspectives make it a uniquely Chinese occurrence, I believe the sheer number of Chinese internet users is what powers the investigative work that makes the Human Flesh Search Engine so powerful, a topic I discuss at length in my thesis.

And let's not forget that viral web investigation is not absent from the western internet. However, more often than not the power of the internet is used to bring about moderate fame or overexposure. Take for example the popularity of video bloggers on YouTube, many of whom reach thousands of views a day and are able to share their views and social commentaries on the internet. While the exposure element remains similar to the Chinese internet, western internet is missing the community investigation and collective moral righteousness found through the Human Flesh Search Engine.

I was just a little surprised that as I read this article it began to sound as though it could be a succinct version of my paper. I'm in no way saying that anything of mine was used, just simply pointing out that I believe when beginning to research the Human Flesh Search Engine, certain cases of the investigative work point researchers onto similar paths. And certain cases also draw more attention, especially in western media, than others.

However, the article did point to a Chinese author who is has written a book titled Human Flesh Search which has been released in China. It's times like this when I wish that I spent more time on my Chinese learning over the years, although my reading ability has always been a bit weak due to my inability to devote much time to the study of grammar. And I don't foresee this being translated into English any time soon...

Tomorrow expect a post reviewing the Human Flesh Search Engine as portrayed in film and television. One post will be dedicated to the recent Law and Order episode devoted to and similarly titled "Human Flesh Search Engine." The other will be a review of "Human Flesh Search Engine," a short film by Daedalum Films which explores the phenomena and asks the question: "what can it tell us about modern China?" I'm excited to view both of these and will provide necessary links and reference information in their respective posts.

Consent of the Networked

I'm eagerly awaiting the release of Rebecca MacKinnon's book Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom, which is being released January 31st. The book's summary moves the debate about if internet can shape policy and spur increased freedoms to how the internet can attain these ends. It seems as though the book will discuss how citizens need to defend their liberties and rights on the internet in the same way one would do through a rally or protest offline. MacKinnon relates web users to "netizens" - a term I used often in my thesis - which are people who act like citizens of the internet "and take ownership and responsibility for [their] digital future." To find out more about this upcoming book, or to pre-order, visit the book's official website.

MacKinnon, whom I referenced in my thesis, became a role model of mine as I wrote it. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, MacKinnon has worked extensively in China as a journalist and correspondent. She founded Global Voices Online, an "international citizen media network" and works to research and document how the internet shapes global policy and freedom of expression. She even testified in front of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on "China’s Information Control Practices and the Implications for the United States" and is considered an expert in Chinese internet censorship.

One post written by MacKinnon on her blog RConversation greatly inspired my thesis and research. While my adviser and I made connections between the modern movements and actions taken by netizens utilizing the Human Flesh Search Engine, MacKinnon drew a strong parallel between these cyber-vigilantes and the Red Guards of the Cultural Revolution. In her post titled "From Red Guards to Cyber-Vigilantism to Where Next?", MacKinnon likens Red Guards of the past who targeted members of the bureaucracy to Chinese netizens who have recently been targeting corrupt officials through the internet, leading to quite a few sackings.

For more information on the Human Flesh Search Engine being utilized to end corruption, I urge you to visit my thesis above where I discuss the search engine and corruption, or visit the Instances section above for concise snippets.