Is China's "Great Firewall" a Fraud?

An anonymous reader notes an article up on ScienceBlogs that calls into question the efficacy of the touted "Great Firewall of China" — a program by the government of the People's Republic of China to block users from reaching content it finds objectionable. Researchers at UC Davis and the University of New Mexico have performed experiments on the Great Firewall, sending test content to destinations inside China and observing what gets through. They conclude that the Great Firewall is more of a "panopticon" that encourages self-censorship through the perception that users may be being watched, rather than a true firewall.

Comments

Re:Haha had us all fooled!

[SL Baur]

Speaking as someone who has done international travel in the last week, I absolutely agree. And worse (or better as your case may be) it seems much freer outside of the US than in.

So long as a small country like the US continues to confuse me with someone who lives (or used to live, they won't tell me but they ask me every time through) in Oakland, I can believe that a large country like China cannot possibly control all their citizens.

I believe in open borders, but only to those who pay their own way and pay more taxes than benefits they receive. I wish the US had the same standards as Japan. My wife would be with me now, instead of in a long, long immigration queue ...