Taylor Lorenz’s Power User The Global Internet Is Dying: America Is Repeating China's Biggest Mistake
Dec 12, 2025
James Griffiths, a Hong Kong-based journalist and author of The Great Firewall of China, explores the troubling parallels between U.S. internet policies and China's authoritarian approach. He discusses the intricacies of China’s Great Firewall and how Western nations are increasingly adopting similar censorship measures under the guise of safety. Griffiths critiques the outsourcing of censorship to corporations and the dangers it poses to free speech, particularly for marginalized communities, while warning about the potential rise of a 'national internet' model.
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Censorship Won't Create A Healthy Web
- A censored internet doesn't equal a healthier one; China still has massive low-quality content and nationalist extremism.
- Heavy-handed removal of some harms also erases nonpolitical expression like LGBT fan fiction and queer communities.
Regulation Can Become Censorship
- Western tech backlash (Cambridge Analytica, Snowden) created appetite for regulation that can be repurposed into censorship.
- Legitimate concerns often morph into top-down controls that suppress organizing and dissent.
Choosing 'Trusted' Platforms Centralizes Power
- Western governments mimic China's model by pressuring or choosing trusted domestic platforms to control speech.
- This approach privileges large incumbents and centralizes influence over online expression.
