Although in China, it is possible to "google" something, the likelihood of getting all your questions answered is slim to none. Case in point- China Censorship Impact on Google So even though people have internet access- in China the internet is not a functioning public sphere. Individuals can not openly voice their opinion nor be guaranteed the right to learn the true facts. Below you can see the vast difference found on Google.com & Google.cn for Tiananmen Square
(although small, you can see the first row shows the tanks and people in despair)
(there is no sign of any type of violence- rather a cartoon is the first image result!)
I think it is important to address this and see that there is a clear problem. Although not as significant, China still does not allow Facebook access either- which is another outlet that is clearly valuable within the public sphere. Although internet access has exploded- it is evident that it is not equal around the world.
I think that the topic of internet censorship is a very interesting one. It is so strange to think that we live in this "Global world" but not everyone living in it has access to the same information. One countries access to information can vary greatly from the next one.
ReplyDeleteChina is a world power but I wonder if people in China know that. It's hard to even think what life would be like for me if my internet access was censor like it is in China, would my school paper look the same? How would I follow the news of my friends if I didn’t have Facebook?