The Human Side of Censorship: Keyword Filtering and Censorship Directives on the Chinese Internet

Internet censorship is accomplished not only through technological means, but also through manual controls enforced by the state on the private sector and individuals. In China, central and local government bodies issue directives to Internet companies concerning information and activity that should be deleted, filtered, or monitored. Companies must comply with these instructions in order to remain viable, while individual users who discuss “sensitive” issues online may find their social media posts are made invisible or removed, and may even have their accounts shut down. Government directives are often vague, encouraging self-censorship and overcompensation to stay safely away from the invisible "red line."

China Digital Times monitors Chinese Internet censorship through several ongoing projects. This presentation will highlight our work on two primary projects: (1) Directives from the Ministry of Truth, which tracks censorship and propaganda directives issued by central and local government bodies to Internet companies, including news Web sites and portals; and (2) Sensitive Words, which records keywords filtered from the search results of the popular microblogging platform Sina Weibo. I will also introduce the Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon, a wiki of creative, subversive Chinese Internet language created to skirt censorship and mock propaganda.