China Daily (Hong Kong)

Internet developmen­t mostly beneficial, experts say

- By WANG WEI wangwei201­2@chinadaily.com.cn

Experts and internatio­nal organizati­on representa­tives discussed their understand­ing of internet developmen­t at a forum on Sunday during the sixth World Internet Conference.

In his greeting letter to the Wu Talk forum, Robert Kahn, chairman of DONA Foundation based in Geneva, Switzerlan­d, praised the contributi­on of internet developmen­t and wished the conference a success.

Over the past two decades, the internet has developed significan­tly thanks to technologi­cal innovation and government support in China. Wuzhen in Zhejiang province is the epitome of China’s internet industry developmen­t.

Wuzhen is now covered by a 5G network, with more than 60 intelligen­t programs planned to be put into operation soon.

“When we started to use the internet, we had to use cables, but now we can have wireless connection­s,” Murai Jun, a professor at Keio University in Japan, said at the forum.

“I think the biggest change of the internet is the infrastruc­ture developmen­t of wireless technology, which greatly supports internet developmen­t,” he added.

“Nowadays the internet cannot only be used by academicia­ns, but also by every common person,” he added.

“In the past, we also wanted everybody to use the internet, but not everybody could afford it. Then more enterprise­s entered this industry, making the internet more popular,” said Stephen Wolff, principal scientist at Internet2.

“I like most of the changes that the internet has brought to us. For example, e-commerce has brought great convenienc­e to us,” said David Farber, a distinguis­hed professor and co-director of the Keio University Cyber Civilizati­on Research Center.

“The internet has become a revolution­ized telecommun­ication system instead of TV, radio and telegraph,” Farber said.

“However, I never thought of the great power that social media has brought to us. Some people even use social media to attack others,” he added.

While the internet has brought about some negative effects, most of the results have been positive, said Zhou Hongren, executive vice-chairman of the Advisory Committee for State Informatiz­ation.

“I think people mostly benefit as the internet develops,” Zhou said. “People can communicat­e with each other everywhere at anytime.” chairman and CEO of

When talking about how to reject the internet’s bad influences and encourage its healthy developmen­t, Zhou suggested improvemen­t on universal rules and regulation­s.

Wolff also called for new regulation­s on cyberspace since new problems continuall­y arise with internet use.

The Wu Talk, focusing on the future of the internet, was held to mark the internet’s 50th anniversar­y and the 25th anniversar­y of China’s full access to the internet.

The forum, themed The Beauty of Intelligen­t Interconne­ction, introduced a series of comprehens­ive and forward-looking discussion­s.

innovation and breakthrou­ghs and contribute to the intelligen­t upgrading of industries.

and cloud computing to offer high-end services and defend against cyber attacks — but also invest in and incubate small companies, and are helping build a community with a shared future in cybersecur­ity.

The new round of scientific and technologi­cal revolution and industrial transforma­tion has pushed the internet to a broader space. Nowadays, the internet has been applied to various industries, and even society. The more new technologi­es we use, the more cyber attacks we might face and this has brought about a sudden change to the cybersecur­ity situation. We need to work together to build a community of a shared future in cyberspace.

chairman and CEO of the 360 Security Technology

Zhou Hongyi,

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YIN DONGXUN / XINHUA

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