Beijing takes aim at bloggers

New government restrictions on the internet have sent a chill through the online community in the mainland. Some analysts say the regulations are another step in Beijing's attempt to control information on China's fast-spreading news sites and weblogs.

The new regulations, released by the Ministry of Information Industry and the State Council through the state-run Xinhua news agency last month, impose restrictions on publishing information concerning politics, the economy, the military, and foreign affairs. The regulations apply to both news and non-news websites that "disseminate news or public announcements".

According to the regulations, websites are banned from posting information that endangers "national security" and "national interest". They also prohibit any website that "disseminates inflammatory information" or contains libellous and violent, sexual or corruptive information. The Chinese government, however, did not specify what information would fall into these categories.

Although mainstream news agencies have long worked under censorship, the new rules will have a far-reaching impact, according to Allen Cheng, a US journalist who has lived in Beijing since 2000. "The new laws are aimed at both bloggers and news site operators," he said. "People will be much more hesitant in posting politically sensitive comments on the web now."

Other observers agree that bloggers, not the mainstream press, are especially affected by the new restrictions. "The mainstream press already follows official sanctions - they self-censor and get their news filtered and censored before publication," says Liu Kang, director of the Programme in Chinese Media and Communication Studies at Duke University in North Carolina. "Bloggers and unofficial bulletin board forums are the target of these new regulations."

Popular internet portals that host news groups, like sina.com and Netease, face possible new censorship. Mr Liu said that the new restrictions are simply another step in China's efforts to control its growing internet community, which currently has 134 million users. And because the new regulations are not specific, they will intimidate users, he says.

Foreign websites have also been censoring their own sites in accordance with Chinese law. Critics say that they are helping Beijing to carry out censorship. In June, reports surfaced that Microsoft had blocked parts of its China websites that contain words like "democracy" or "Taiwan independence". Yahoo! and Google also restrict what users can search on their sites in China.

The most public controversy came last month when Yahoo! provided information that allegedly helped jail a journalist.

Although the regulations seek to censor information on the web, Mr Liu said that China's internet does have real problems that need a government response. The US has copyright and libel laws that apply to the internet. But in China, similar efforts are just getting off the ground.

The internet can help democratise society and bring about free speech, but it can also bring other problems.

Eugenia Chien works for New California Media, an association of over 900 print, broadcast and online ethnic media organisations.