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Before I visited China I was aware of the high level of Internet censorship, or as many call it the great firewall of China. However, due to mixed reports and constant change I was unsure exactly what the Chinese web browsing experience would bring. As it turned out not all of my preconceptions turned out to be true.

I found that it’s our most popular social media tools that you will have most trouble accessing. Facebook, Twitter, and various popular blogging sites (no Trendplanner!) appear to have never existed, entering the urls will provide you with the same response as if you had simply hit the keys at random. Another constant block (while I was in the country) that I found a little surprising due to extensive promotion of Google in the country was the Google owned youtube. After entering the url you were often given hope by the sight of the familiar red and white logo, but this hope soon faded as it began to look like you were using a browser of yesteryear that was in no position to handle graphics or video.

Due to reports I heard around the time of the Olympics I had expected to find the BBC and Wikipedia blocked. However, the BBC was available for the majority of my stay, as were other western news sources such as CNN, and the  majority of US and UK newspaper sites. Perhaps even more of a surprise was to have access to Wikipedia, including articles on the site that mentioned the controversial events of Tianeman square. However, I soon found that Wikipedia was not free from the constraints of censorship. I was unable to access various articles including an article on Internet censorship in China, and though perhaps coincidently after trying to do so I was unable to access any Wikipedia articles at all for several hours that followed.

It is possible to access sites behind the firewall, but not always with ease. Twitter and facebook can sometimes by accessed via third party sites, but as soon these are spotted these sites get blocked. Hootsuite worked the day I arrived but didn’t the next, in the end the only site that hadn’t been blocked was SocialWhale (thanks guys). The best way to get access is to use a VPN (virtual private network), however once you’re behind the firewall the best sites to download the software have been blocked, and even when you have the software you will often struggle to again access. The best free service I found was Ultra VPN which gave me access (some of the time) to a French ip address.

Having some of my most used sites blocked was a real inconvenience to me, but many Chinese do not see a problem. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and wordpress do not offer unique services, Chinese users have access to many social networking, and video sharing sites, many of which probably offer a better service than the aforementioned sites. What’s more in a society where all forms of media are under strict censorship rules, most people (though I found plenty that didn’t) seem comfortable or at least expectant of Internet restrictions.

It appears that the Chinese government is well aware that the Internet is vital to the continuation of the country’s rapid economic growth. They don’t want to restrict activity that could benefit the country, but at the same time they don’t want such activity to threaten their position of power. Therefore they ensure that Internet users have access to services such as social networking and video sites, but they ensure that these are sites and site owners the government considers ‘suitable’.

Chances are there are also various financial motives behind the blocking, there is a lot more benefit to China to see a Chinese social network flourish in China than the American owned service such as Facebook.

So the firewall can bring benefits to China, but issues of personal freedom aside, censorship could restrict real progress within the digital space for China. Chinese users have access to most forms of social media tools, but they might be missing out on specific services to use or perhaps integrate with their own (no facebook connect in China). Restrictions hamper innovation, and time will tell if the firewall restricts China’s progress in the digital world.