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March 15, 2007

China To Put Blogs Under Sate Control

Topics: Blogosphere

I'm not sure what the Chinese government means by a "more healthy and active Internet environment," but this sounds a bit ominous to me:

"Advanced network technologies such as blogging and webcasting have been mounting new challenges to the government's ability to supervise the Internet," then official Xinhua news agency quoted Long Xinmin, the head of China's Press and Publications Administration, as saying.

The government is drafting a law to bring blogs and webcasts under Internet publication regulations to ensure a "more healthy and active Internet environment", Long said.

Long gave no details of specific measures but said the new law would "fully respect and protect Chinese citizens' freedom of speech", the agency said.

The article mentions that a media rights group has said China leads the world in technological and judicial controls over online dissent, with 52 people in Chinese jails for internet-related offenses at the end of last year. My guess is that bloggers in China are about to get a whole lot more uncomfortable about just how free their speech really is.

Posted by Richard at March 15, 2007 10:41 AM

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