Reclassifying Internet Censorship: Legal Analysis of the Chinese Communist Party’s State Firewall as a Tool of Aggression and War Crimes
I. Introduction
The Great Firewall of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter “PRC” or “CCP”) has long been perceived by the international community as a domestic instrument of information control, restricting Chinese citizens’ freedom of speech and right to know. However, this technological barrier is not merely an internal affair. In reality, the Great Firewall has become a key component of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) external acts of aggression and war. It poses a direct threat to foreign national security and international peace.
II. The “Domestic Policy” Disguise and the Substantive Aggressive Nature of the Firewall
1. Domestic Facade, Aggressive Substance
The CCP’s internet control is cloaked in the rhetoric of “maintaining social stability,” yet it strategically severs external visibility into domestic events and blocks the inflow of foreign information, leading to global information asymmetry.
This deliberate obfuscation hinders the ability of foreign governments, media, and civil society to monitor or respond to CCP misconduct, effectively shielding unlawful international operations under the veil of national sovereignty. It constitutes an interference in the global right to the free flow of information.
2. The Firewall as an Instrument of Information Warfare and Cognitive Warfare
The systematic obstruction of truth is foundational to the CCP’s information warfare and psychological operations against foreign states.
Through censorship, keyword filtering, and large-scale blocking, the CCP manipulates international public opinion, stokes confusion, and fosters instability abroad, thereby undermining trust in democratic institutions and rule-based orders.
III. The Great Firewall as an Act of Aggression Under International Law
1. Definition of Aggression (Rome Statute, Article 8 bis)
Aggression includes “the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State,” and—importantly—includes coercive or non-military means that constitute political subjugation.
2. The Firewall as a Non-Military Tool of Aggression
The Great Firewall obstructs global monitoring of CCP behavior, including pandemic responses, human rights violations, and military activities. This information control inflicts strategic harm on other States’ political and security interests.
When combined with cyberattacks and coordinated disinformation campaigns, the Firewall operates as part of a broader architecture of transnational aggression.
3. Emerging Legal Precedents
International law increasingly recognizes cyberwarfare and non-kinetic aggression as acts of international concern, with legal scholarship and case law evolving to address digital and informational forms of hostile conduct.
While no case has yet directly addressed a national firewall as an instrument of aggression, related judgments on state-sponsored cyberattacks and information suppression provide an emerging foundation.
IV. The Great Firewall and War Crimes
1. Information Suppression as a War Crime
Under the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols, denial of access to humanitarian information or channels during armed conflict is prohibited.
The Firewall obstructs both domestic and international humanitarian communication, depriving affected populations of life-saving knowledge and concealing ongoing atrocities, thus constituting complicity in war crimes.
2. Facilitation of Cyberwarfare and Hostile Operations
The Firewall protects, conceals, and enables PRC-led cyberattacks against foreign infrastructure, enhancing operational secrecy and increasing the lethality of information-based warfare.
These coordinated digital offensives qualify as contributory acts to war crimes, escalating the Firewall from censorship mechanism to warfare infrastructure.
V. Conclusion
The Great Firewall is not a mere internal matter of state control. It is a strategic weapon wielded by the CCP to commit acts of aggression and war crimes. Through information suppression, manipulation of international discourse, obstruction of truth, and enabling of cyberwarfare, it undermines state sovereignty and assaults the foundations of international law.
The international community must reclassify the Great Firewall not as a domestic policy but as a tool of aggression. It must be subject to international criminal scrutiny—before institutions such as the Far Eastern International Tribunal or under universal jurisdiction—in order to hold the CCP accountable and uphold the rule-based international order.