China has introduced a new security law that adds internet under the sovereign control of the state. As per the law, internet is a matter of sovereignty and security and they should be “secure and controllable”.
The new law becomes a model for state controlled internet.
The National security law of China, passed by the top legislature on Wednesday extends from military to economy. It also brings space exploration and cyber security under the concern of security establishment.
The new policy comes at the time of China’s increased aggressiveness in the East China Sea. In the internet world, many secretive hacking and invasions into the US military sites were attributed by China based digital warfare groups.
Already internet is tightly controlled in China including a ban on major Google services. The country has taken a traditional stand of keeping strong monitoring of the digital world.
A key element of the new law is a clause on cyberspace sovereignty. China will make internet and information technology, infrastructure, information systems and data in key sectors “secure and controllable,”
Zheng Shuna, a spokeswoman with the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, has elaborated that control over internet and the related fields are necessary to have political security in China. “We are under dual pressures … Externally, the country must defend its sovereignty, security and development interests, and internally, it must also maintain political security and social stability.”
On domestic front, the policy clearly indicates the state control over political mobilizations like social and democratic movements. It also describes that cult culture will be checked as a matter of social control.
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