Digital Divide New Rules on Internet News Information
November 30, 2005 | BY
clpstaff &clp articlesReflecting China's growing unease with the free flow of information over the internet, the government has released new regulations further restricting the digital dissemination of unauthorized news.
By Song Huang and Lingli Cheng, Haiwen & Partners, Shanghai
There is little doubt that China stands to benefit by applying the technology of the internet to commerce, finance, science, entertainment and education. However, China also has reason to fear the internet's function as a conduit for uncensored news and unapproved views. The Administrative Regulations of Internet News Information Service joinlty issued by the State Council's Information Office and the Ministry of Information Industry on September 25 2005 (2005 Regulations) represent the government's latest response to a series of recent online incidents that have been deemed to pose a serious threat to "national security and the public interest". The 2005 Regualtions impose tighter restrictions on the spread of news information online as compared with those under the November 6 2000 Provisional Administrative Measures on the News Publishing Business Engaged by Internet Websites (2000 Reguations). Following is a discussion regarding the 2005 Regulations and the restrictions they impose on the dissemination of news via the internet.
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