Abstract

In today’s world, access to the internet provides people with the ability to communicate and gather information instantaneously. Our entire globe is connected by the internet, however not those people in news restrictive countries. Governments are realizing that with modern technology comes a new way of keeping citizens in the dark. When national governments restrict access to global news, people turn to social networks to learn what life is like outside of their homeland.

The importance of this case study is to analyze three selected countries in order to provide: background information on how they became so restrictive, the alternative forms of media taking place, and current events related to each nation. Social media has completely transformed our world in a digital way, making it easier for us to communicate through the use of technology. This case study will explore North Korea, Eritrea, and China; three countries where media censorship is taking place to block social networks.

North Korea

Background: North Korea is the second most censored country in the world. (cpj.org) When Korea fell into foreign hands during the 20th century, the ensuing wars only reinforced the North’s isolation (Huffington Post). After a devastating Korean War, the people and government of North Korea felt vulnerable and surrounded. The constitution nominally mentions freedom of speech and the press; however, the government only allows this when it is praising the country, its government, and leader. The North Korean government controls the information coming in and out of the country, however, they also actively shape the information at its source.

Currently, the people in North Korea have very limited internet access and watch restricted to internet cafes designated for foreign tourists in Pyongyang. A former North Korean radio announcer told her story of how she was brainwashed at an early age to spread nothing but positive comments about North Korea, even if those facts were a lie. (dw.com) However, they have found inventive ways to follow the news. Between the hours of 1 and 3 am when there’s less risk of getting caught is a prime time for people to gather around their radios, eager for news. (DW.com) When North Korean citizens can connect to the internet, they use “Red Star,” a state-run operating system that includes government-sanctioned Web sites and local message boards (The Washington Post). Ramest Srinivasan, who studies social media and regime change, said “North Korea is one of the unique countries in the world because virtually every computer or technology that could be used for some social media application is regulated by the government,” (The Washington Post).

Alternative: The mobile internet provides hope for alternate forms of media, there is now an estimated 2 million North Koreans own mobile phones. In 2013, the government allowed foreigners in the country to use 3G on their mobile phones, which requires a local sim card to access the Koryolink mobile carrier network (The Guardian). Thus, opening the door for tourists to browse the web and post to social media sites, giving a glimpse at life inside the fortified borders. The government, looking to tighten control and with fears of locals accessing the internet, officially banned Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for all people in April of 2016. The country has built its own rudimentary social network; however, this is the lone example of social media for North Koreans as underground networks are not very prevalent.

Current Events: While they have allowed exclusive reporting from the Associated Press, North Korea flexes their power over the information available to foreign reporters, evident when they expelled British journalist Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in 2016.

Eritrea

Background: Eritrea is a small country on the eastern coast of Africa with a population just over 5 million, most people have never even heard of it, however, this is the most media censored country in the world. According to the CIA Factbook, since gaining independence from Italian colonists in 1941, Eritrean history has been riddled with conflict. A decade after gaining independence, Eritrea was annexed by neighboring Ethiopia, thus “sparking a violent 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating government forces” (CIA Factbook). Isaias Afwerki has been Eritrea’s only president since then, whose rule became especially autocratic and repressive starting in 2001. The government has created a highly militarized society with an unpopular mandatory service program, citing an imminent threat of war as the cause.

For nearly 30 years, the media has been restrained by a rebel war hero turned president, who’s government outlawed the internet as well as any forms of social media. Private ownership is also banned and the government controls all broadcast media, leaving Eritrea with one state-owned TV station; and two state-owned radio networks. “Combine this with only around 1 percent of Eritreans having internet access and what results is a media system that draws comparisons to North Korea, according to the U.N.” (Medium). Eritrea, under the rule of the harsh authoritarian, President Isaias Afwerki, has become an isolated world – with over 5,000 citizens fleeing every month. The people in this poor sub-Saharan African country are desperate for freedom, many chose to brave the world’s deadliest migrant trail, across the Sahara and the Mediterranean into Europe (Wall Street Journal).

Alternative: The alternative forms of media are few and far between in Eritrea, with the few privately-owned newspapers being closed in 2001, as part of a crackdown on the opposition (BBC). Eritreans abroad are providing a glimpse of hope, by running alternative news outlets however their reach and influence are limited. “Exile broadcasters include Paris-based Radio Erena, which broadcasts via shortwave in Tigrinya and Arabic” (BBC). In 2017, there were 71,000 internet users in Eritrea, accounting for 1.3% of the population (Internetworldstats.com). “The government makes an effort to block many websites managed by Eritrean exiles,” said Freedom House, a US-based international human rights organization, in its 2016 Freedom of the Press assessment (BBC). It also has the lowest figure for mobile phone users, making the population very hard to reach.

Current Events: The threat of imprisonment has led many journalists to go into exile. 17 journalists were imprisoned in Eritrea as of December 1, 2015, the most in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). There is no room for freely reported news and the media is subject to the whim of the president, says Reporters Without Borders (RWB). Infamous as a predator of press freedom, President Issayas Afeworki, is responsible for “crimes against humanity,” according to a June 2016 UN report. The short-term future doesn’t seem too promising, the president has been quoted with grim statements like, “Those who think there will be democracy in this country can think so in another world,” he said in 2014 (RWB).

China

Background: China is strict when it comes to social media because the government doesn’t want to lose control. Since the nation’s founding, almost all forms of media such as newspapers, TV, and radio stations have been run by the government. Once the internet grew in popularity during the early 2000s, it was deemed a form of media communication and placed under government supervision. China maintains strict media control using monitoring systems and firewalls that shut down certain websites.

Mark Zuckerberg desperately wanted Facebook to enter into China and has even been learning Chinese. But in 2009, China banned Facebook, Google, Snapchat and Twitter, because citizens used it to organize protests that evolved into riots. There are specific zones to access Facebook like in the city of Shanghai or Hong Kong. China has Freedom of speech and press in their constitution, but cracks down on media when it deems harmful to their political or economic interests. (crf.org)

Alternatives: The Chinese government has banned Google, because it redirected search traffic from mainland China to Hong Kong. This has caused Google to largely pull themselves out of the market and ever since then their relationship has not improved. Determined users can still access Gmail through a Virtual Private Network, but even this network can be interrupted by the Great Firewall. By banning Snapchat, it has been a protectionist commercial tactic that has paid dividends, these platforms are heavily censored even when it comes to money transfers on sensitive dates.

Current Events: President XI Jinping of China talked at a Big Tech Conference to show off the country’s technological strengths to the world as well as calling for tighter control of the internet. Mr. Wang has called for China’s openness and the need for equal access to the internet. However, China has led the way in cutting its internet off from the world with blocks such as the Great Firewall of China. While many major foreign websites are blocked in China, the wireless connections at the conference allowed open access to the global internet.

The proposed solution would naturally be to decrease the restrictions on social networks such as Google, Facebook, and YouTube. Freedom of speech and the press are such important things to our human culture. Combine this with the modern ability to be interconnected with people around the globe, and we face a potential for growth that has never been seen before.

All three of these foreign countries have social media censorship, which bans all forms of social media and allows only little internet access, most of which is monitored by the government and can be shut down at any moment if inappropriate. It is unfair that these citizens are deprived of the basic freedom to use social media and the internet as they wish. Social Media is such a convenient way to stay in touch with friends and family, as well as stay up to date on the very latest news. Our world is progressively becoming more reliant on social media and it will only continue, expanding into endless possibilities. One can’t help but wonder if Eritrea, North Korea, and China will ever conform to a modern world or stay the sheltered countries that they are today; only time and innovation will tell.