National Identity, Ideological Apparatus, or Panopticon? A Case Study of the Chinese National Search Engine Jike

Abstract

This article addresses a major gap in the Internet and policy literature by exploring the symbolic, social, and political implications of Jike, China's national search engine. Through a case study of Jike, we demonstrate that semiotic and political economic perspectives could critically inform our understanding of complex information intermediaries. Semiotic analysis shows how Jike tried to tap into popular nationalism to brand itself strategically as friendly, “high tech,” and patriotic. A political economic analysis of Jike reveals the mechanisms through which a changing mode of digital propaganda production by the state attempts to use the market to subsidize the Party press's digital infrastructures and “thought work.” The article also raises awareness of Jike's potential surveillance capabilities, as the state advances its ambition for information control under the auspices of economic development and modernization of Chinese society. It concludes with a discussion of the implications of national search engines for Internet policies.