Chinese authorities widen campaign of Internet controls

E-Brief News reports that China set new regulations on Internet news content on Sunday, widening a campaign of controls it has imposed on other Web sites, such as discussion groups. The new rules are the first major update to policies on Internet news and opinion since 2000. ‘The state bans the spreading of any news with content that is against national security and public interest,’ the official Xinhua news agency said in announcing the new rules, which took effect immediately. According to a report on the IoL site, the news agency did not detail the rules, but said Internet news sites must ‘be directed towards serving the people and socialism and insist on correct guidance of public opinion for maintaining national and public interests’. Established news media needed permission to run a news Web site, it said. New operators had to register themselves with government information offices. China has a dedicated band of cyber police who patrol the Internet with the aim of regulating content. Postings that criticise the government or address sensitive topics are quickly removed. Access to many foreign news sites is routinely blocked. Full reports on the IoL site

The measures were undertaken to allow the posting of only ‘healthy and civilised’ news, Wired News reports, It said the move is part of China\'s ongoing efforts to police the country\'s 100 million Internet population. Only the US, with 135 million users, has more. As part of the wider effort to curb potential dissent, the government has also closed thousands of cybercafes – the main entry to the web for many Chinese unable to afford a computer at home. The government also recently threatened to shut down unregistered Web sites and blogs, the online diaries in which users post their thoughts for others to read. Full report on Wired News

Meanwhile, The New York Times reports that although Chinese authorities have already effectively unlimited powers to control the gathering and publication of news, the Propaganda Department has sometimes struggled to censor information about delicate developments before it circulates on the Internet. By the time officials have decided that a topic might prove harmful to the governing party\'s agenda, an item about it has often already been posted or discussed on hundreds of sites and viewed by many people, defeating some traditional censorship tools. Experts who follow the Internet say one of the most significant changes is the ban on self-generated opinion and commentary articles that accompany the standard state-issued news bulletins on major portal sites. Full report in The New York Times