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Standardising the splinternet: how China’s technical standards could fragment the internet

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  • Stacie Hoffmann
  • Dominique Lazanski
  • Emily Taylor

Abstract

China’s drive for technological dominance has resulted in a long-term, government-driven national strategy. This includes the creation of native technologies which reflect local policies and politics, micromanagement of the internet from the top down, and the use of international standards development organisations (SDOs), such as the UN agency the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), to legitimize and protect these technologies in the global marketplace. Alternate internet technologies based on a new ‘decentralized internet infrastructure’ are being developed in SDOs and marketed by Chinese companies. In a worst-case scenario, these alternate technologies and a suite of supporting standards could splinter the global internet’s shared and ubiquitous architecture. They also pave the way to a new form of internet governance, one that is multilateral instead of multistakeholder. A fragmented network would introduce new challenges to cyber defence and could provide adversaries with a technical means to undermine the norms, predictability and security of today’s cyberspace – which would also impact human rights and widen the digital divide. Western nations and like-minded allies need to intensify their cooperation with one another, international partners such as the EU, and other stakeholders like industry, academia and civil society to understand and limit the potential ramifications of these new technical developments. This paper aims to shed light on how China’s activities in SDOs contribute to the execution of its long-term technical, economic and political strategic ambitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Stacie Hoffmann & Dominique Lazanski & Emily Taylor, 2020. "Standardising the splinternet: how China’s technical standards could fragment the internet," Journal of Cyber Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(2), pages 239-264, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:rcybxx:v:5:y:2020:i:2:p:239-264
    DOI: 10.1080/23738871.2020.1805482
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    Cited by:

    1. Pohle, Julia & Voelsen, Daniel, 2022. "Das Netz und die Netze. Vom Wandel des Internets und der globalen digitalen Ordnung [The net and the networks. Transformations of the Internet and the global digital order]," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 32(3), pages 455-487.
    2. Sebastian Klotz, 2023. "Who drives the international standardisation of telecommunication and digitalisation? Introducing a new data set," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 14(3), pages 558-568, June.
    3. Cantero Gamito, Marta, 2023. "The influence of China in AI governance through standardisation," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10).
    4. Frieden, Rob, 2022. "Why has multilateral space and spectrum resource management become more difficult?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(10).

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