China has tightened its grip on Internet access in the region.
As Bloomberg notes, Chinese lawmakers have approved what is known as the Cyber Security Law. It goes into effect in June, and gives China far-reaching power to crack down on Web access and invade Internet users' privacy.
According to Human Rights Watch, the legislation's most objectionable provisions include making it easier to censor content and limit users' ability to employ pseudonyms in online services; paving the way for "critical information infrastructure operators" to store personal user data; requiring companies to monitor networks for possible security incidents; and making it easier for China to shut down Internet access in response to "major [public] security incidents."
The organization is also concerned that a ban on "overthrowing the socialist system" and "fabricating or spreading false information to disturb economic order" will be used "to punish and jail peaceful activists and...result in lengthy sentences."
China, of course, already censors Internet access. But according to Human Rights Watch, "Internet control has reached new heights since President Xi Jinping assumed power in March 2013."
What's worse, the draft rules, which will likely be signed into law this week, are incredibly vague, providing the government with the ability to more easily take aim at Chinese Internet users. Article 46 of the final draft, for instance, makes it illegal for individuals or companies to build sites or "communication groups" that will in any way be used to spread "criminal methods." It also bans users from creating anything related to "unlawful and criminal activities."
The draft doesn't define crime, which can often be a moving target in China. And as Human Rights Watch points out, it also doesn't define how privacy could be measured in the event the government wants access to information.
"If online speech and privacy are a bellwether of Beijing's attitude toward peaceful criticism, everyone – including netizens in China and major international corporations – is now at risk," Human Rights Watch China director Sophie Richardson said in a statement.