China’s legislature passed a national security law on Wednesday that will require the rollout of a “secure and controllable” internet infrastructure, ignoring objections from overseas business lobbies and human rights groups.
The Chinese government has long maintained a “Great Firewall” between its own “sovereign” cyberspace and the rest of the internet, cutting off 20 per cent of the world’s population from Facebook, Google, Twitter and other services.
The official Xinhua news agency said the new law, signed by President Xi Jinping, would establish “mechanisms to censor items that have or may have an impact on national security, including foreign investment, particular materials and key technologies”.