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China Cracks Down on Video-Sharing Sites

Posted on: Friday, 21 March 2008, 13:00 CDT

China has announced its plans to shut down or punish video-sharing Web sites for content the government believes to be pornographic, violent or a threat to national security.

During the announcement, regulators did not mention this week’s recent block on China’s web traffic to YouTube because of posted footage showing anti-government demonstrations in response to China’s dealings with Tibet.

The rules prohibit Chinese Web sites from posting any online video that would damage China’s reputation, disrupt social stability or promote pornography.

This announcement comes just months before the country is scheduled to host this summer’s Beijing Olympics.

A total of 25 sites were shut down with plans to expand to 32 others after a two-month investigation. No further details of penalties were announced.

Tudou.com, a popular Chinese video-sharing site, was among those who received a warning, which vice president Dan Brody confirmed.

Duncan Clark, managing director of BDA China Ltd., a Beijing consulting firm, said the companies weren’t surprised by the penalties, and he denied that they were linked to the government’s efforts to block Tibetan protest footage.

The communist country has maintained a tight control over the most powerful forms of media. In response many citizens are increasingly turning to video-sharing sites as another option for news.

"It's niche no longer, so the party takes the view that it's mass media, so it has to be subject to the same controls," Clark said.

In December, the government announced that all video-sharing sites had to be state-controlled. Later, it scaled back those plans and said that it would issue licenses to companies instead.

Source: redOrbit staff and wire reports

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