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** SPOTLIGHT
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China’s internet users face greater censorship with new plans for online access

China’s newly-proposed registration requirements for internet users could mean greater state surveillance, rising threats for human rights defenders, and further shrinking of online freedoms ([link removed]) .

Under the plans, internet users would be required to register on an app using their national identification card and facial recognition. When users register on the Internet ID App and use the web number and certificate to access other apps and online services, they grant the government access to their entire digital trail. This will give at least two Chinese ministries enhanced surveillance powers.

The new rules will have a direct impact on not only the 1.1 billion Chinese internet users, but also people from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and other foreign nationals living in China who register.

Together with our partner Chinese Human Rights Defenders ([link removed]) (CHRD), we analysed the draft Internet ID Measure ([link removed]) . If adopted in its current form, the measure will further restrict freedom of expression and access to information, hinder the work of rights activists, and breach international human rights standards. It provides for no accountability to address myriad privacy concerns, and risks extraterritorial applications.

‘We have already witnessed how China’s Cybersecurity Law has influenced rising digital authoritarianism around the world, in the creeping adoption of cyber sovereignty data regulations and pro-surveillance real name registration requirements, among others. The adoption of this centralised approach to identity verification risks further emulation of repressive digital norms as China pushes to remould internet governance in its own repressive image.’

– Michael Caster, ARTICLE 19’s Head of Global China Programme

Together with Chinese Human Rights Defenders, we are calling on China to revise the laws and regulations on internet governance and cybersecurity so they align with international human rights standards.

Read our joint analysis ([link removed])


** ALSO IN THE NEWS
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Publisher and democracy activist Jimmy Lai, currently imprisoned in Hong Kong. (Hong Kong Free Press )

No journalist left behind: The Jimmy Lai Bill could save British journalists abroad

Over 1,400 days in solitary confinement. No consular access. This is the reality for British citizen Jimmy Lai, publisher and pro-democracy advocate, detained in Hong Kong since 2020 under its draconian National Security Law.

The ‘Jimmy Lai Bill’, introduced before the British Parliament last month, seeks to enshrine a right that many assume already exists: guaranteed consular assess for arbitrarily-detained British media workers. It is an important law that could change the United Kingdom’s approach to protecting its citizens abroad.

The Bill presents a vital opportunity for the UK to take moral leadership in strengthening consular rights.

While the Bill alone may not immediately compel compliance from authoritarian regimes like China, Iran, or Russia, it sends a clear message: the UK is committed to protecting its journalists and citizens abroad.

The Jimmy Lai Bill will undergo a second reading on 7 March. We will be writing to UK MPs, urging them to support the Bill.

Act now to free Jimmy Lai

If you’re a UK resident, write to your MP ([link removed]) urging them to hold the government responsible for its promises to secure Jimmy’s release.

Read more ([link removed])

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