China has ordered the country’s biggest technology firms to immediately “rectify” violations and shut accounts that publish “bad information”, in the latest move by authorities to tighten policing of the web. The Cyberspace Administration of China said it held a meeting this week with representatives from domestic tech giants Baidu, Sohu, Tencent, Netease and Phoenix … Read more
China issued new regulations on Friday around online video content, directing streaming platforms to eliminate a range of programs in yet another tightening of controls on the Chinese Internet. Among the films, dramas and cartoons targeted by the China Netcasting Services Assocation’s (CNSA) rules are those “demonstrating ‘abnormal’ sexual relations or acts, such as… homosexuality.” … Read more
China plans to launch its own online encyclopaedia next year, hoping to build a “cultural Great Wall” that can rival Wikipedia as a go-to information source for Chinese Internet users who Beijing fears are being corrupted by foreign influences. China is under pressure to write its own encyclopaedia so it can guide public thought, according … Read more
People in the Chinese megacity Chongqing could be fined for using VPNs to jump over the country’s “Great Firewall” that blocks access to forbidden websites from Google to Facebook. The punishment would be meted out to people using virtual private networks to access banned sites for commercial purposes, but Amnesty International said the wording was … Read more
Image-curation website Pinterest has become the latest social media service blocked in China, checks on censorship monitoring websites indicated Friday. According to greatfire.org and blockedinchina.net, the popular virtual bulletin board service has been unavailable in mainland China since last Thursday. The San Francisco-headquartered service joins rival photo-sharing firm Instagram — which has a much larger … Read more
As China hosts execs from global tech companies at its World Internet Conference, human rights advocates are warning that online censorship in the country is only getting worse. Representatives of U. S. firms like Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) and IBM (IBM, Tech30) will rub shoulders with their counterparts from Chinese tech giants like Alibaba (BABA, Tech30) … Read more