Sharing Is Caring But China’s Cyberspace Regulator Disagrees. Why?

Floppy disks.

Remember those?

At one point they were all the rage with their cool looks and superb ability to store and share data up to a whopping 1.44MB! #MuchWow

Coming out of the nostalgic relic, we moved pretty fast through 700MB CDs, 4.7GB DVDs and 25/50GB Blu-ray disks. Somewhere in between we also witnessed the introduction and rise of USB devices and external hard disks, which are very much still in use.

None of these allowed instant transfer of the data being shared, unless you were carrying a laptop or external peripherals, which would require a large part of effort compared to the light and easy features smartphones offer.

This is where the almighty Bluetooth came in; the most widely used wireless device-to-device sharing technology for smartphones. Bluetooth was the dominant way for people to share videos, photos, songs and other files, allowing quick access and usage of the shared data. #90sKidsRemember

Soon the market was flooded with other methods that aimed to make the process simpler, faster and more secure. A major breakthrough was the advent of Near Field Communication (NFC) chips.

Then came Apple’s AirDrop, which used Bluetooth technology to find nearby connectable devices to establish a secure peer-to-peer Wi-Fi network connection. Simply put, both AirDrop and Buletooth file sharing allow you to share files no matter where you are; all you need are 2 devices that support the technology.

TechDogs-"Image Of Floppy Disks For Nostalgic Purposes"

Source

However, recently we have seen China issuing rules against the use of file transfers with wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and AirDrop. This was a move by the Cyberspace Administration of China, which is dubbed China’s “powerful internet watchdog”.

Why are they doing this? Essentially to “maintain national security and social public interests” and ensure that people aren’t publishing or sharing “illegal or harmful” information through such networks.

According to Gao Fuping, a law professor at the East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai, “It is mainly about cybersecurity, and the core aim is to ensure all the information transmission can be traced in case problematic things happen.”

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time China has censored such networks. In 2022, China limited AirDrop’s use and functionality to curb the spread of harmful content. Soon enough, Apple rolled out updates for AirDrop that prevented users from enabling sharing to “Everyone” for over 10 minutes at a time outside the user’s contact list.

Eventually, the Apple’s plans to release the 10-minute limit on receiving data through AirDrop sometime in 2023 across all regions, as per Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

TechDogs-"Image Of Thomas Nunlist, Senior Analyst, Tech And Data Policy, Trivium China"

Source

Speaking on the matter, Tom Nunlist, a senior analyst at Trivium China said, “The new draft regulations would bring Airdrop and similar services firmly into China’s online content control apparatus,” and added, “Apple has faced criticism in the past for its compliance practices in China.”

What do you think of imposing restrictions on technology made to enable sharing? Will such curbs reduce cyber threats and sharing of misinformation? Let us know in the comments below!

First published on Thu, Jun 15, 2023

Enjoyed what you read? Great news – there’s a lot more to explore!

Dive into our content repository of the latest tech news, a diverse range of articles spanning introductory guides, product reviews, trends and more, along with engaging interviews, up-to-date AI blogs and hilarious tech memes!

Also explore our collection of branded insights via informative white papers, enlightening case studies, in-depth reports, educational videos and exciting events and webinars from leading global brands.

Head to the TechDogs homepage to Know Your World of technology today!

Disclaimer - Reference to any specific product, software or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by TechDogs nor should any data or content published be relied upon. The views expressed by TechDogs' members and guests are their own and their appearance on our site does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by TechDogs' Authors are those of the Authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of TechDogs or any of its officials. While we aim to provide valuable and helpful information, some content on TechDogs' site may not have been thoroughly reviewed for every detail or aspect. We encourage users to verify any information independently where necessary.

Tags:

Bluetooth AirDrop File Sharing Restrictions Wireless File Sharing China

Join The Discussion

Networking Solutions