Archive notice: This article was originally published on February 7, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
According to pressetext, China has relaxed its strict guidelines for monitoring websites somewhat. The new regulations, in force since February and announced in December, originally brought tighter state monitoring. However, clarification of the provisions last Sunday eased the restrictions a little. Private domestic and foreign online video sites that were already registered before December 27 may therefore resume operation with immediate effect, the Wall Street Journal reports.
New providers such as the YouTube video platform remain banned, however. According to the authorities, the amended regulations are in the public interest, and the government wants internet culture to develop with Chinese characteristics. The state therefore controls the influence of private companies on the cultural industry. In the new statement, the government also warns against publishing pornographic or violent websites. Such offerings would be severely punished.
Despite the partial relaxation, the organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) still sees a major restriction of freedom of expression in China. The scope for action by bloggers remains completely unclear. “Will Chinese bloggers be allowed to post audio and video content? There is no certainty whatsoever about this,” RSF complains in a release. The organisation has long criticised the extremely extensive internet censorship in China and regularly warns of a further deterioration in the situation. “It is to be feared that China will push censorship further. Particularly with the support of Western companies, the situation will probably continue to deteriorate,” Katrin Evers, spokeswoman for RSF Germany, tells pressetext.
Despite the strict monitoring, China is now the second-largest internet nation, and online video in particular enjoys great popularity. According to a survey by the China Internet Network Information Center, 62 percent of Chinese internet users had already consumed online video by the middle of last year. Overall, the field ranks fourth among the most frequently used internet offerings in China. Not least because of its growing popularity, the censors are increasingly targeting online video and trying to control its content strictly – as is customary on television.
