The commercialisation of Internet-opinion management: How the market is engaged in state control in China

Abstract

This article examines how market actors are actively engaged in state control of the Internet in China by studying the emerging industry of Internet-opinion management in that country. It presents an ecology of this industry, identifies three main market actors whose competitiveness is deeply rooted in the Chinese political context and identifies three stages of state-market collaboration. This article sheds light on how the rise of big data has strengthened state capacity for Internet control. It provides original evidence for how the profit motive drives Chinese data companies and media organisations to seek active involvement in the institutional construction of Internet-opinion control. This article also contributes to the literature on repression and contentious politics. It demonstrates that by relying on the market, authoritarian states are able to turn advanced technology into a repressive tool, which makes it more difficult for their citizens to use the Internet to mobilise.