China Increases Control over Internet Content

Source: The Herald Tribune

The Chinese government recently announced plans to increase control over content on the internet that is accessible to its citizens. While permitting citizens to use the internet for business and education, President Hu Jintao’s government is trying to reduce exposure to what web pages that are considered immoral or anti-government.

The government has announced “admittance standards” for the countries’ 37 million blogs, a number that is estimated to grow to about 60 million by year’s end. No further explanation of what the standards required was announced.

Earlier this year, the government announced an initiative to “purify the environment” of the internet. It strictly enforces control on websites run by human rights groups, political activists, or websites that contain sexually explicit materials.

In a related policy, companies such as Yahoo and Google have been forced to cooperate with the censorship by the government as a prerequisite of doing business in the country.