The Borneo Post

China tightens rules on online news, network providers

-

BEIJING: China yesterday issued tighter rules for online news portals and network providers, the latest step in President Xi Jinping’s push to secure the Internet and maintain strict party control over content.

Xi has made China’s ‘ cyber sovereignt­y’ a top priority in his sweeping campaign to bolster security. He has also reasserted the ruling Communist Party’s role in limiting and guiding online discussion.

The new regulation­s, released by the Cyberspace Administra­tion of China ( CAC) on its website, extend restrictio­ns on what news can be produced and distribute­d by online platforms, requiring all services to be managed by party- sanctioned editorial staff.

The rules, which come into effect on June 1, apply to all political, economic, military, or diplomatic reports or opinion articles on blogs, websites, forums, search engines, instant messaging apps and all other platforms that select or edit news and informatio­n, the administra­tion said.

All such platforms must have editorial staff who are approved by the national or local government internet and informatio­n offices, while their workers must get training and reporting credential­s from the central government, it said.

Editorial work must be separate from business operations and only public funds can be used to pay for any work, it added.

Under the rules, editorial guidance measures used for the mainstream media will be applied to online providers to ensure they too adhere to the party line, such as requiring ‘emergency response’ measures to increase vetting of content after disasters.

The rules also stipulate that a domestic business that wants to set up a joint venture with a foreign partner, or accept foreign funding, must be assessed by the State Internet Informatio­n Office.

Content on China’s internet has never been free of government censorship, though a number of internet companies run news portals that produce relatively independen­t reporting and opinion pieces.

A number of these platforms were shut down last year, after Xi in April called in a speech for better regulation of China’s internet.

The CAC separately yesterday released another set of rules that on June 1 will require ‘ network providers and products’ used by people who might touch upon “national security and the public interest” go through a new round of security reviews.

Beijing adopted a cyber security law last year that overseas critics say could shut foreign businesses out of various sectors in China. — Reuters

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Malaysia