Dealing with a tsunami of information - Jeremy Goldkorn

Jeremy Goldkorn

Over 500 million Chinese are on internet, and 300 million have a Twitter-like weibo account, causing a tsunami of information that is hard to manage, tells internet watcher Jeremy Goldkorn in the Deutsche Well. That offers the citizens an inprecedented freedom, despite censorship. 

Deutsche Welle:

Chinese censors are currently focusing most of their attention on the Internet. Their greatest annoyance has been a social media website similar to Twitter called “Weibo”. About 300 million Chinese have at least one Weibo account. 

“The Internet and options like Weibo give people the chance to express themselves more than ever before in the history of China,” said blogger Jeremy Goldkorn, who lives in China. 

A new law requires Weibo users to register with their real names. The legislation still hasn't gone into effect. 

Goldkorn has seen regulation of Internet use grow stronger through censorship in China. Aside from the Weibo-law, censorship has limited itself to traditional methods, such as shutting down websites. When a power struggle was taking place within China's Communist Party, the government disabled the comment function for three days on social media websites similar to Twitter. 

The problems stems from more than just one website or trying to control public opinion on politics. ”We're dealing with a tsunami of information that didn't exist before,” Goldkorn said.

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  Jeremy Goldkorn in a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

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