China's cyber watchdog orders top tech platforms to increase self-censorship
19/07/2017 13:54
BEIJING, July 19 (Reuters) - China's top cyber authority
ordered the country's top tech firms to carry out "immediate
cleaning and rectification" of their platforms to remove content
deemed offensive to the Communist Party and the country's
national image, it said on Wednesday.
The watchdog held a meeting with representatives from firms
including Tencent Holdings Ltd 0700.HK , Baidu Inc BIDU.O and
Sohu.com Inc SOHU.O , on Tuesday where it gave them a list of
specific errors, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC)
said in a statement on social media.
The violations include distorting Chinese history, spreading
fake news, misinterpreting policy directives and failing to
block content that subverts public stability.
"[The sites] must adhere to the correct political line and
moral norms," the statement said.
Chinese authorities have recently cracked down on platforms
that allow users to share media from outlets that are not
sanctioned under state-issued licenses, amid a wider censorship
campaign spearheaded by President Xi Jinping.
On June 1 the CAC ushered in new regulations requiring all
offline and online media outlets to be managed by Party-approved
editorial staff. Workers in the approved outlets must receive
training from local propaganda bureaus. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1I42ID
In the wake of the new regulations several sites have been
targeted with fines and closures under the watchdog's orders.
In specific examples, the CAC criticised one platform that
failed to censor articles that "seriously deviated from
socialist values" by saying China benefited from U.S. assistance
during conflicts with Japan during World War II.
Other examples included a story detailing alleged affairs by
party officials, an opinion piece that decried China's death
penalty and an article that urged readers to invest in
speculative real estate projects.
The CAC said the firms were required to immediately close
offending accounts and strengthen "imperfect" auditing systems
to avoid future punishment.
(Reporting by Cate Cadell; editing by Susan Thomas)
((Cate.Cadell@thomsonreuters.com; +8618510722863;))
Keywords: CHINA CENSORSHIP/