Increasing global demand for an uncensored Internet - how the U.S. can help defeat online censorship by facilitating private action

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Jan, 2008 by Andrew W. Lloyd

"Anonymizer," a for-profit website that allows anonymous Internet browsing (primarily targeted not at overcoming censorship, but providing privacy to users in non-censoring countries) has entered the arena of anti-jamming technology. (61) Its "Operation: Anti-Censorship" project is currently free. (62) The company has been actively monitoring the amount of time it takes for the Chinese government to block the site, finding that the time period is usually more than a week. (63) When this occurs, the service simply sets up under a new address, but the company claims that it has "other tricks up its sleeve" if the government becomes quicker at blocking sites. (64) The company claims that it is willing to update on a daily basis and to employ additional technology that would make it more difficult for the Chinese government to identify and block the site. (65) The project is currently online for Chinese citizens and a version is under development for users in Iran. (66)

2. Recent Private Collaborative Efforts

In December 2006, four of the largest companies in Internet anti-jamming technologies reached an agreement to fully cooperate in their technology and business operations. (67) The four companies are: World's Gate, Inc.; Dynamic Internet Technology, Inc.; the UltraReach Internet Corp.; and Garden Networks for Freedom of Information. (68) The total number of visits to these companies' sites has exceeded one billion. (69) Bill Xia is the president of the Dynamic Internet Technology. (70) He said that the "[f]unding of these anti-blockade tools and services, in addition to the income from various service contracts, comes from donations and in-kind contributions in different forms from people from all walks of life." (71) He added that many of the employees of these companies work on a volunteer basis. (72)

In order to help operate with limited funding, these companies are now hoping that websites profiting from the new Chinese audience that anti-jamming technology creates will contribute to the cost. (73) Although acknowledging the increasing costs of maintaining free services, the companies believe that they will continue to find funding in order to operate as long as such services are needed. (74) Alex Wang, vice president of World Gate, maintains that his company "will continue [its] efforts until the information censorship inside China completely ceases." (75) While China, as usual, is the main focus of such software, the software also has users in Belarus, Cuba, Ethiopia, Iran, Laos, North Korea, Tunisia, and Vietnam. (76)

C. The Global Internet Freedom Act of 2006 (GIFA)

The Global Internet Freedom Act (GIFA), most recently introduced on February 14, 2006, failed to make it out of the House Committee on International Relations. (77) Versions of GIFA have been submitted to three sessions of Congress. (78) While it has not been introduced in the current session, GIFA continues to warrant discussion for its frequently cited supporting policy statement, (79) and as a prominent example of the viewpoint that the U.S government should fund anti-jamming software.