Editor’s Note:  Translation courtesy of CRE.

From: Cheng Lin, Party Secretary and President of Chinese People’s Public Security University (via GMW.cn)

The 21st century is the age of information, information networks and society are closely intertwined. Network security is no longer a purely technical issue, but a real social issue.

I.

Currently, China’s network information security is facing three serious challenges:

First, Western countries engaged in psychological warfare to undermine the network of China’s political and social stability. Freedom on mass tranfer of information and cultural interactions, making cyberspace a conflict zone in the ideological battlefield.  Hostile western forces drill our network full of legal and regulatory loopholes, they use cyberspace for attacks on Chinese opinion, for political pressure, and to vilify China’s international image which is aimed at opinion that is intensified over the network “social contradictions,” leading to social instability, for which we should be highly vigilant and active to prevent.

Second, important information network sectors in China have been subject to intensive attacks by spy agencies. Now, network attacks, such as computer viruses, from individual hackers has evolved into an organized network of groups, group actions, and some countries of espionage. Statistics show that currently are tens of thousands of trojan horses, thousands of botnet control servers in China, overseas spy agency attacks such as crazy “Wolf tactics”, “frog attack”, “boat attacks”, and “Web site phishing” which steal secret and intelligence on China’s implementation of network penetration, has never been as it is now that network security and national national security are closely related.

Third, cyberspace crimes are becoming rampant.  Money laundering, fraud, online gambling and criminal activity, online pornography are spread worldwide.  The smartphone empowers mobile networks users and enables criminal elements, thus, a criminal underground network is formed. Copy and changing the network community is all real-world patterns of crime, currently in the criminal code to cover the reality of information types of cybercrime. At the same time, internet abuses such as “human flesh search”, “network of violence”, “Internet rumours”, “net plagiarism” and other problems become more and more serious and network defenders find that seeking legal protection and judicial relief is very difficult.

II.

With the popularization and growth of information networks, there is a growing awareness that, while the network itself is the product of technology, however, information network security requires both advanced techniques and legal, moral and other powerful support.  Strengthening the development of information security management requires the rule of law.

First, safeguarding the sovereignty of the national network is an urgent imperative.  Some Western countries to militarize the network to subtly proclaimed the sovereignty of this global network, exagerating its advantages, for the purpose of rendering the “theory of sovereignty obsolete” for networks in an attempt to achieve network hegemony. Due to confusion over sovereignty on the internet, often involving foreign interference in Government’s network management, Internet users do not understand the phenomenon. Therefore, there is an urgent need to strengthen the network construction of the rule of law by exercising sovereign jurisdiction over network according to law and maintaining national sovereignty in cyberspace.

Second is the pressing need for maintaining network security order. Information networks are by no means a pure land and, as with the real world, the existence of truth, goodness and beauty, also breeds the false, bad, and the ugly; both Internet users and the “peoples (cell phone)” digital playground is also a haven for illegal criminals and terrorists. Thus, standardizing the network order, reorganizing the cyberspace relationship between rights and obligations, building a good network environment, means there is  an urgent need to speed up the development of of the rule of law for networks.

Third, there is the imperative to respond the urgent requirements for an emergency crisis response.  The internet, without time-tested validation and filtering of the aggregation of the moment, makes it extremely easy to promote the potential for tensions to quickly turn into sudden conflicts and can quickly make a local issue “globalized,” simple problems become “complicated”, common problems become “politicized”, general issues become “hotspots.” Therefore, to address network behavior and management measures, according to regulations, the rule of law must be strengthened.

Fourth is the imperative of preventing network disputes.  There are an increasing number of network dispute cases in China, which have become increasingly internationalized and politicized.  In 2010, for example, Tencent and “360” unfair competition between the United States’ Google “search engine” disputes, has become a serious threat to China’s information security. Therefore, to enable network main line, Conference of the judiciary and to effectively prevent and resolve disputes over various network, the rule of law for networks must be strengthened.

Fifth, strengthening the regulatory governance of the network is an imperative.  Some Western countries claim that  “censorship undermines freedom of speech”, and “strict regulation will weaken and kill technological innovation.”  The view of the impact of censorship in China is not unified, know the differences. Pursuit of the ideals of liberty, equality and shared network goals, maintaining order, justice and security as the network’s reality requires balancing the relationship between the two, there needs to be a strengthening of development of the network’s rule of law, the legal enforcement of government intervention, and a modest network rule of regulatory governance.

III.

Development of the rule of law for information networks in China started in the 1980 and, after almost 30 years of development, established legal and regulatory system for the network. But, on the whole, the level of development of network rule of law is not high,  There are big defense gaps in the rule of law.  First, the concept of the rule of law for networks is lagging,  the form of legal principles applicable to the new network society, are still used in cyber law or physical world jurisprudence logic is applied in many places can not be justified or enforced.   Secind, network legal research is weak, does not clarify the effect of qualitative changes effect from traditional legal systems, no found from reality social to network social of rule construction bridge.  Third, cyber-related legislation is a trailing phenomena relative to local and departmental rules and regulations, effectiveness is low when there is a conflict between authorities.  Fourth, network regulation to prevention control mainly, heavy approval light regulatory, numerous, long management, difficult formation fist, ignored social parties participation, missing network electronic governance measures; five is a lack of network legal resources, new network right not legallyrecognized, applies legal difficulties, Emphasizes the responsibilities and obligations of Internet service providers and users, non-sexual norms, inadequate protection of the rights of the network; six is also no good faith has been established in the network society ethics guidelines for regulation and the rule of law, lies, disinformation and other problems on the network, law enforcement evidence, no legal basis for, the information network of rule of law and lack of ethics.

The combination of “Good laws” and “good governance” is essential to the spirit of modern law.  To speed up the process of building the rule of internet law in our country, we need to emphasize the following aspects:

First, actively advocate network sovereignty of the network, establish a sound network system frame of the legal system. To science defined my network jurisdiction authority, set and enhanced network official seal consciousness and concept, defend network borders; effective strengthening network law research, as soon as possible developed information network security law under, determines network rule of overall framework, science planning my network social of rule construction; timely carried out network regulations of vertical modified waste work, solution good network regulations lag and sector regulations Zhijian mutual contradictions and the conflict of problem, enhanced network security technology legislation, appropriate to technology standard and technology specification rose for legal specification; consider in Penal Code established the “crime of disrupting the order of information network security” special section, changes to individual provisions increases respond to network security legislative pattern of modification.

Second, strengthening implementation and enforcement of laws, form a complete network security mechanisms for the rule of law. A is severe against treatment network illegal crime activities, research normal of, and institutionalized and rule of law of of against mechanism, strongly curb live network illegal crime activities of spread of potential; II is strengthening online information content monitoring and law enforcement efforts, consider will online information is divided into illegal, and harmful and sensitive, content, for classification management and disposal, established network information “notification delete” and “delete disclaimer” mechanism,; three is sound network security accountability, strengthening network of security operation mode construction, Strict security operators to access the site review, prevent ISPs aligned with illegal sites of interest, focus on network communication, such as protection of the rights of individuals to privacy in, and the propulsion using real name on Internet according to the law, speeding up the development of key technology for Internet real-name system, the establishment of “real name registration, network access” electronic identity authentication and trusted service management system for security validation.

Third, strengthening the cultural construction of network security, efforts to raise awareness of society as a whole network of rule of law. To full using network advantage, carried out Franco-Prussian education, universal network security legal knowledge and security prevention skills, held online legal advisory, legal assistance, activities; perfect network Convention mechanism, play network self-discipline of public organization role, to government regulatory and industry self-discipline, and public oversight combined up, sound network self-discipline Convention, play network rule of law soft constraint of role; strengthening network moral correctional mechanism research, to upgrade network personal moral consciously for focus, construction network social of moral new system, Network safety concept of safety culture advocated by the social morality and honesty deeply rooted.

IV, adhere to the strategically integrated and taken into account, promoting international cooperation in the network construction of the rule of law. Active improve in China in Internet security area of legal construction discourse right, from national security strategy height and Manpower consider, actively promote established protection network security of international rule of law system; actively urged international social common solve network independent right problem, advocate and support network root domain name analysis system referred to the States recognized of neutral international organization management, clear States on the management right of operation enjoyed equal of right and obligations; promoting network international legislative and law enforcement cooperation, key to in promote international social on network security of legal defined , Cyber crime, “standard” and the jurisdictional aspects of the application of the principle of consensus, reduce the Nations of the world in the fight against cybercrime law enforcement in conflict and friction.

V, wary of some countries in maintaining network security implementation of “double standards” and “two”. On one hand, they other countries preach democracy, human rights and freedom of the Internet, on the other hand, network communications continue to strengthen monitoring of their own countries. We must be good at international organization and of the United States to jointly resist the duplicitous words and actions of certain States, ensure that the network construction of the rule of law along the equal, fair, scientific, reasonable and healthy track.