Review: Two Books on Internet Control in China and North Korea Examine Digital Freedom Under Authoritarianism
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Summary
A review essay examining two new books about internet control and censorship in China and North Korea. The article explores what it means to be free online under authoritarian regimes, drawing on the author's personal experience of Facebook being blocked in China in 2009. It analyzes how both countries construct digital surveillance systems and control narratives, while citizens find creative ways to navigate these restrictions. The piece delves into the philosophical questions around digital freedom, state power, and resistance in the context of the Great Firewall of China and North Korea's tightly controlled intranet.
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Twitter / XReview: Two Books on Internet Control in China and North Korea Examine Digital Freedom Under Authoritarianismlareviewofbooks.orgKey quotes
· 3 pulledI REMEMBER THE DAY Facebook was blocked in China. I had been living there for nearly a year when, one morning in the summer of 2009, I received an error message.
It was not entirely surprising; censorship of foreign websites had been slowly increasing over the past year. But it felt particularly dispiriting.
Facebook was the primary way I kept in touch with my family and friends back in the United States and connected with a variety of communities around the world.
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