The Internet Is Splitting in Two Amid U.S. Dispute With China | Bloomberg

Tangentially, see Google in China: When ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Met the Great Firewall | Bloomberg

"Unlike the relatively hands-off American model, the Chinese approach is geared toward one over-arching imperative -- propelling and safeguarding the ruling Communist Party. Anything deemed to undermine that objective, from pornography and addictive games to pockets of dissent, is ruthlessly rooted out when discovered. To wit, China has the lowest level of internet freedom among 65 countries polled by Freedom House.

Critics of the model say players like Alibaba and Tencent thrive because Beijing dampens competition by making it nigh-impossible for global players such as Facebook to operate. They say the government’s heavy hand and unpredictability is counter-productive. Exhibit A: a months-long crackdown on gaming that helped wipe out more than $200 billion of Tencent’s market value this year. That cultivates a pervasive climate of fear, said Gary Rieschel, founding partner at Qiming Venture Partners."

The Internet Is Splitting in Two Amid U.S. Dispute With China | Bloomberg