How will the CCP government's 'Anti-espionage Law' affect OSM editing?

General talk
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  • First of all, I want to make it clear that I have no other intentions in writing this article, I just want to know how it will affect OSM editing and what OSM editors should be careful about.

As a member of a generation that has seen firsthand how arbitrary and vague laws from authoritarian states affect their citizens, I am frankly very concerned about the Chinese Communist government’s “Anti-Espionage Law”. - Related search results

I’d like to discuss the impact of the Anti-Espionage Law on OSM editing broadly and hear your information and opinions.
In particular,

  • Are residents of China (including Hong Kong) likely to be penalized in any way for simply obtaining information for OSM edits?
  • Is it possible that simply editing security-sensitive facilities - broadcasters, public institutions, etc… - could be a barrier to future travel to China?
  • Whether simply asking a resident of China for information about security-sensitive facilities is likely to penalize a resident of China…
  • What exactly constitutes a security-sensitive facility…
  • e.t.c, e.t.c…

Below is for reference only.
Please tell me what I don’t know yet or WHAT YOU THINK.

The information below is just a guide, please do a search for more information.

Below are the results of asking the A.I. about “How the Chinese Communist government’s ‘Anti-espionage Law’ will affect OSM editing”.

The Chinese Communist government’s “anti-espionage law” could have a significant impact on OpenStreetMap (OSM) editing in China. The law, which went into effect in January 2022, makes it a crime to collect or provide information that could be used to harm national security. This could include information about military bases, government buildings, or other sensitive sites.

As a result of the law, OSM editors in China may be hesitant to contribute data about these types of locations. This could lead to gaps in the OSM map of China, making it less accurate and useful for users.

The law could also make it more difficult for OSM editors to collaborate with each other. If editors are concerned about sharing information that could be considered sensitive, they may be less likely to participate in discussions or projects that involve data from China.

Overall, the Chinese Communist government’s “anti-espionage law” could have a chilling effect on OSM editing in China. It remains to be seen how the law will be enforced, but it is clear that it could have a significant impact on the accuracy and completeness of the OSM map of China.

In addition to the legal risks, OSM editors in China may also face social and political pressure to avoid contributing data about sensitive locations. The Chinese government has a history of cracking down on dissent and restricting access to information. As a result, OSM editors may be concerned about being punished for their activities, even if they are not technically breaking any laws.

The combination of legal and social risks could make it very difficult for OSM to maintain an accurate and complete map of China. This is a significant challenge for the project, as China is a large and important country. However, it is important to remember that OSM is a global project, and there are many editors outside of China who can contribute data. With the help of these editors, OSM can continue to provide a valuable resource for users around the world, even if the map of China is not as complete as it could be.

Below are the results of asking the A.I. about “What individuals should pay attention to when editing OSM based on the Chinese Communist government’s ‘Anti-espionage Law’”.

The Chinese Communist government’s “Anti-Espionage Law” prohibits the collection, storage, and dissemination of information that is considered to be national security secrets. This law has been interpreted broadly to include information about military bases, government buildings, and other sensitive locations.

As a result, individuals who edit OpenStreetMap (OSM) in China should be careful not to add or modify data that could be considered to be national security secrets. This includes information about the following:

  • Military bases
  • Government buildings
  • Sensitive industrial facilities
  • Critical infrastructure
  • Natural resources
  • Border areas

If you are unsure whether or not certain information is considered to be national security secrets, it is best to err on the side of caution and not add or modify it. You can also contact the OSM China community for more information.

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I doubt China will do anything other than try to remove or vandalize data they don’t want to be in OSM. Overt sttacks could to easily be turned into bad press by governments friendly to OSM. What they might do to thier citizens who edit the map is another story completely.

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Below are the results of asking the A.I. about “What individuals should pay attention to when editing OSM based on the Chinese Communist government’s ‘Anti-espionage Law’”.

don’t know which AI you asked, but chatgpt for example will happily tell you factually wrong information, and if you make it aware, it will excuse and tell you the next alternative facts, so don’t trust what it says, it’s mostly useful to generate advertising texts, not for questions you don’t know the answer yet (because it only pretends to know the answer, it has no concept of truth)

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I thought it was already illegal to map in China, without direct, specific, permission to do so?

Carrying on from that, for a foreign visitor, even having OSMand etc on your phone is apparently frowned upon?

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After skimming this article of our wiki I would think that not much changed.
I personally would never take the phone I currently use should I travel to China.
Make your own choices. If you want to be on the safe side, don’t edit China. If you’d like to edit China, maybe get a second osm account and use a different machine to edit.

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Doesn’t their state run map utilize OSM? If so, I’d be interested to know how it and other map providers in China deal with these types of issues. On the hand it would be easy to just not map things that might effect national security, but then on the other who knows what that really means to begin with. Although if other map providers have been able to function in China without it leading to legal problems then there has to be a middle ground somewhere between mapping things there safely and not mapping the country in the first place. It’s just a matter of figuring out where the boundaries are and hopefully not doing so by way of the court system :sweat_smile: :roll_eyes:

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On the hand it would be easy to just not map things that might effect national security, but then on the other who knows what that really means to begin with. Although if other map providers have been able to function in China without it leading to legal problems then there has to be a middle ground somewhere between mapping things there safely and not mapping the country in the first place.

afaik you may not use gps at all in China, other mapping providers in China (are there non-chinese?) have to play by their rules and have their cartography censored. They also use their own coordinate system which obscures “real” positions, find more in the wiki and online:
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/China

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It’s hard to say what the impact of the Chinese Communist government’s new “anti-espionage law” will be.
It could be the key to diplomatic negotiations, or it could be the key to voluntary self-censorship.
But either way, it will have an impact on OSM editing in China (including Hong Kong).
In the immediate term, it could lead to vandalism by editors responding to the Chinese Communist government’s directives (and this does happen), and it could affect travelers to China (including Hong Kong).

For OSM editing in China, see ‘China#Legality’ and ‘Chinese_tagging_guidelines#Legality’.

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Sorry for asking but: Is this a text by a LLM (sometimes referred to as AI)?