A proposal for cybersecurity legislation has experts up in arms over what they say vague provisions that would give the government legal basis for shutting off the Internet.At a forum on July 27, Wang Sixin, a law professor at Communication University, said he is concerned the proposed law would give the government too much control over the Internet.Wang said policymakers should offer detailed guidelines for when authorities can limit access to the Internet.One part of the proposed bill says officials can shut down the Internet to "to maintain national security and social order or to deal with large-scale riots."Shen Yi, a professor of international politics at Fudan University in Shanghai, said that the government has already issued Internet blackouts in the past, but that the law would codify that power.The draft law also contains clauses which state that Internet service providers must maintain national security and assist in criminal investigations.For Caixin Online, this is Diana Bates.
