China’s World Internet Conference is still a sham, and Facebook is still playing ball

It’s a propaganda event designed to give international legitimacy to China’s internet censorship regime.

By C. Custer

It’s that time of year again. 

Just like last year, China is kicking off its World Internet Conference in Wuzhen just as Freedom House announces that it is ranked dead last in internet freedom. 

And just like last year, foreign internet companies are playing ball anyway.
2015’s World Internet Conference was a complete sham. 

Attendees were given uncensored internet access so that they didn’t have to actually experience what China means when it talks about “internet sovereignty.” 

There was little in the way of free discussion, and when Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales did make an off-message comment suggesting that governments couldn’t totally control the flow of information, his statement was edited to echo the Chinese Party line on the official conference site. Several Western media outlets were also denied credentials to cover the event.
If it wasn’t clear already, last year made it patently clear that what China is holding in Wuzhen is not a conference. 

It is a propaganda event that’s designed to give international legitimacy to China’s internet censorship regime.
You would think all that would have been enough to convince foreign internet companies to stay away this year, but you’d be wrong. 

The guest list may have lost a little luster, but several major internet companies are still there. LinkedIn CEO Reid Hoffman is there (he’s passionately opposed to Donald Trump, but apparently fine with Chinese authoritarianism). 

Facebook VP Vaughan Smith is there. 

Amazon senior VP Jay Carney is there. 

GSMA CEO John Hoffman is there.
Gentlemen: please stop. 

I understand that you want to engage with China, and you should. 

But this sham conference is not the forum for that. 

It is not an avenue for real discussion. 

It is political theater, a propaganda play that you lend legitimacy simply by attending.
A real world conference is an exchange of ideas, but many ideas about the internet are off limits in Wuzhen. 

This year’s conference doesn’t include any discussion of free speech issues (there’s a shocker). 

And at forums dedicated to more sensitive topics like internet law, many of the speakers are Chinese nationals with official government positions. 

This is not a “world” internet conference, and on sensitive topics it’s pretty clear that the conference organizers (various Chinese government agencies) have no intention of providing a true sampling of world perspectives.
Of course, I’m just basing that on the agenda. 

Perhaps this year’s conference will be a truly open discussion. 

Perhaps pigs will fly (hey, stranger things have happened). 

But I wouldn’t count on it. 

And if the goal is openness, things certainly don’t seem to be off to a great start: