Are you guessing, or have you seen actual reports/investigations that say that? I don't think it's so. China, for instance, doesn't have nearly the resources (or at least doesn't choose to use them) to 'get into trouble' anyone who looks at censored content, say, via a proxy. They just make it as difficult as possible to access.
One study suggested that even posting unallowed content might escape without censorship (let alone punishment) -- unless the posted content attracts discussion from others, and thus the algorithms make it look like you might actually be organizing.
One study suggested that even posting unallowed content might escape without censorship (let alone punishment) -- unless the posted content attracts discussion from others, and thus the algorithms make it look like you might actually be organizing.
http://gking.harvard.edu/files/gking/files/experiment_0.pdf