China plans to boost up its censorship game to target AI videos and “pessimism”
A China VPN is now an even more vital digital tool
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China’s infamous censorship body revealed fresh plans to boost internet censorship in the country,South China Morning Post reported.
Short videos appear to be the main target this time, especially those spreading extremism and, for the very first time, pessimistic content. Video material generated usingAIwill also be banned.
These new guidelines come as the latest attempt to further restrict and control the internet within the country’s borders. As a result, we expect that reliableChina VPNservices will become an even bigger necessity for visitors, and citizens, who wish to keep securely accessing the open wide web.
China censorship: the main targets
Since 2020 the country’s top censorship body, the Cyberspace Administration of China, has been regularly updating the list of content to censor within the country. As mentioned, this year’s “Qing Lang” campaign (which means clear and bright) took a strong stance against short-form videos.
Despite being a Chinese-developed software, thepopular video-sharing app TikTokis banned in China. However, censors plan to target its Chinese equivalent, Douyin, and other platforms where short videos are widely shared, including WeChat and Weibo.
The watchdog specifically expressed a commitment to cracking down on creators who make up “stories about social minorities to win public sympathy” as well as “fake plots and spreading panic,” SCMP revealed.
According to the South China Morning Post, China’s censors have deleted or blocked a total of around1.35 billion online accounts,76 million illegal or improper messages, and10,500 websitesas a consequence of the Qing Lang crackdown campaign between 2021 and 2022.
While extremism and so-called “incorrect values” like money, history, and mixed-race relationships have long since been among the censors' targets, it’s the first time that content promoting “pessimism” is included. This new tactic seems to be linked to the country’s continuous struggle to recover economically after the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Another new entry on the blacklist is AI-powered videos. The watchdog plans to ban short videos that manipulate content and illegally use other people’s voices or faces.
Finding a way to fight back against the threats of AI-generated content, especiallyvideo and audio scams, is no doubt a massive challenge, and priority, for plenty of the nation leaders in 2024.
In July, Chinaproposed a set of guidelinesfor generative AI software and large language models to minimize their risks. The EU Commission has just concluded the final negotiations for the AI Act, which is likely to become the new standard across Western countries.
How a VPN can help
Short forvirtual private network, a VPN is a security tool that protects your privacy and anonymity, while also allowing you to bypass strict internet restrictions and censorship.
How? Every time you connect to the software, you’ll need to choose one of the available servers—all thebest VPNservices offer a wide range of speedy and secure locations across the world. Your realIP addressis hidden so that your ISP is tricked into thinking that you are located in another country, depending on where your chosen server is based.
A VPN then enables you to access websites and social platforms that aren’t available in your home country— and some VPNs can bypass the notorious Great Firewall in China. However, a VPN cannot help you access content that authorities have deleted or prohibited a certain platform from sharing.
It’s also worth mentioning that Chinese authorities strictly regulate VPN usage while working hard to find new and effective tactics toblock VPNs.
China topped the list as the biggest offender worldwide forVPN censorshipbetween January and May this year. In fact, authorities block providers' websites over eight times (812%) more than the global average of 8%.
This is why you should take care when picking a VPN provider. Services implementingobfuscation technology, for example, are less vulnerable to such attacks.
We also suggest downloading several apps to hop from one to another in case these get blocked. Check ourbest free VPNspage to choose the safer freebies on the market as well as our updated guide to thebest working VPNs for China.
Lesser-known tools, like the newly launchedSnowstormorLantern, are also effective ways to reconnect a splintering web and access all the content you want, without restrictions.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1.Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2.Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
Chiara is a multimedia journalist committed to covering stories to help promote the rights and denounce the abuses of the digital side of life—wherever cybersecurity, markets and politics tangle up.She mainly writes news, interviews and analysis on data privacy, online censorship, digital rights, cybercrime, and security software, with a special focus on VPNs, for TechRadar Pro, TechRadar and Tom’s Guide. Got a story, tip-off or something tech-interesting to say? Reach out to chiara.castro@futurenet.com
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