China regulator looks to tighten grip on microblogs
“The meeting noted that due to the rapid development of
microblogs, we must strengthen management to address problems
arising as microblogs develop,” the official Xinhua news agency
report said.China’s microbloggers showed their potency in a string of
recent official scandals, particularly an online uproar in the
wake of a high-speed bullet train crash in July that killed 40
people. Microbloggers led the charge in challenging rail
officials’ evasive accounts of the disaster.Chinese state media have demanded that
Internet companies, regulators and police do more to cleanse
websites of “toxic rumours”.China currently heavily filters the Internet, and blocks
popular foreign sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.The Xinhau report said people who spread “fabricated
rumours,” pornography, and who “pollute the Internet
environment”, must be investigated according to the law.”Make microblogs a new platform that is positive and healthy
and for expressing oneself in a civilised and rational way,” it
said, adding that influential bloggers should develop a stronger
“sense of social responsibility.”The State Internet Information Office is a newly formed
agency intended to strengthen government regulation of Internet
content, which is also monitored by several other, sometimes
rival agencies.The meeting was presided over by Wang Chen, director of the
State Council Information Office, the government’s propaganda
and information arm.Sina and other Chinese microblog operators already
deploy technicians and software to monitor content, and block
and remove comment deemed unacceptable, especially about
protests, official scandals and party leaders.
