China threatens closure of mobile news apps amid Internet crackdown
China threatens closure of mobile news apps amid Internet
crackdown
Reuters – 6 hours ago
BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Monday launched a crackdown
on several mobile news applications that provide news information services
without approval from government regulators, threatening to shut down those who
refuse to "rectify".
The ruling follows a government campaign to curb "online
rumours", as the government tries to rein in social media.
The State Internet Information Office said that some of
the news applications carried "pornography and obscene information and
harm the physical and mental health of youngsters", and others published
false information.
Some mobile news applications also provide a channel for
subscribers in China to read articles published by foreign media outlets whose
articles have been blocked in China, such as the New York Times.
Mobile news applications identified include Zaker, which
said it had more than 17.5 million users at the end of April, and Chouti whose
slogan is: "Publish all that should not be published."
The state regulator has told authorities to further crack
down on illegal mobile news applications, by requiring them to
"rectify" according to the laws.
The government will close down and ban those who refuse
to rectify "to maintain order of news dissemination on the mobile
internet".
China's top court and prosecutor issued a regulation in
September specifying that people will be charged with defamation if online
rumours they create were visited by 5,000 internet users or reposted more than
500 times. Those responsible can be sentenced to three years in jail.
Lawyers and activists called the latest crackdown a
significant, if crude, expansion of powers to police the Internet and a blow to
those who rely on microblogs to disseminate information that is often not
monitored as strictly as traditional media. (Reporting by Li Hui and Sui-Lee
Wee; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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