Article,
Internet censors move to quiet debate on new online video and audio regulations
China Media Project, (20080104)
Abstract
By David Bandurski – While some analysts of China’s technology sector
have suggested new regulations for the online audio and video industry
slated to take effect on January 31 do not “actually represent a
change in policy,” they have more edgy Chinese media up in arms,
and CMP sources indicate authorities are already moving to quiet
dissenting voices.
The State Council’s Information Office (the primary office tasked
with policing China’s Internet) ordered the removal yesterday of
an online editorial from Shanghai’s Oriental Morning Post criticizing
the regulations, a media source told CMP Homepage Image: Youku.com,
one of China’s leading video sharing sites.
Saying the new MII/SART regulations a were “clearly an act of establishing
administrative licensing”, the Oriental Morning Post editorial still
available here suggested they were a clear violation of Article
15 of China’s Administrative License Law, which additionally says
that the setup of administrative licensing systems should primarily
address such special areas as national security, public safety and
limited national resources having a direct bearing on the public
interest.
“An icy wind is cutting across the Internet as we enter the new year,”
said the lead editorial in today’s Southern Metropolis Daily.
The newspaper said plainly that the new regulations “would bring the
diversity of online video programming under much stricter controls”:
According to the regulations, companies hereafter applying to offer
online video and audio services must be wholly state-owned (国有独资)
or state-controlled (国有控股), and must have no record of violations
in the three years prior to application. Many people believe that
the lately very rich culture of online audio and video programming
will soon lose its shine as it is “led to health and order.”
The Southern Metropolis Daily editorial argued that the SARFT/MII
regulations are a “shocking intrusion” regardless of whether the
government’s goal is to promote cultural development and innovation
(a key Hu Jintao policy buzzword), or to ensure fair market competition.
“Industry controls on the online video and audio industry are unfair
and directly concern the development interests of countless companies.
They are also unjust, binding the civil right to expression in the
online age,” the newspaper said.
RELATED READING:
“SARFT, MII jointly regulate and control online video business“, Caijing
magazine, December 30, 2007
Supplementary Note, January 4, 2008, 8:35pm Hong Kong:
An additional point to note, as the debate over these new regulations
unfolds in the Western media and blogosphere, is that these regulations
should not be seen as an attempt to “shut down the industry.” Kaiser
Kuo noted this correctly on his Digital Watch blog last month, and
Jeremy Goldkorn of Danwei.org has concurred. But we can eliminate
the “shut down” thesis (as to the motivations of MII/SARFT) out of
hand by simply looking at the party’s official media policy (”Three
Closenesses”, “Media Strengthening”, etc.), which is about the perfect
marriage of control and commercial growth. No, leaders have no wish
to shut down the online video and audio industry, or to shake it
up unnecessarily. They want it to flourish, and for service providers
to make money hand over fist. But they also want to bring it to heel.
The crucial point is to observe how leaders might seek to accomplish
these twin objectives through regulations of this sort.
6 Responses to “Internet censors move to quiet debate on new online
video and audio regulations”
1. Danwei : The new rules about online video in China Says:
January 4th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
… of the rules (and censorship of such criticism) in the Oriental
Morning Post and Southern Weekly: Internet censors move to quiet
debate on new online video and audio regulations.This article is
from …
2. China's new online video regulation: reading the tea leavesRConversation
| Techitorial Says:
January 4th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
… be certain to read today’s piece by the China Media Project’s
David Bandurski: Internet censors move to quiet debate on new online
video and audio regulations. He reports that many Chinese journalists
and news editors are strongly opposed to the new …
3. Transpacifica » links for 2008-01-05 Says:
January 6th, 2008 at 12:23 am
… Internet censors move to quiet debate on new online video and
audio regulations (China Media Project… (tags: censorship china video
chinatech) Socialize: …
4. Lonnie Says:
January 6th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Nice synopsis…
I am not sure how or why some sources like techcrunch made the leap
from the new regs to a widespread shutdown….Strange that we don;t
see this kind of furor over the new regs in Australia…
5. Global Voices Online » China: So yellow, so violent Says:
January 8th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
… not Bruce Lee. The new regulations set to hit Chinese video sharing
websites later this month could be regarded as strictly a censorship
move, but then there's the fact that most of these sites …
6. Censur på internettet: Nye regler for videoportaler i Kina | KINABLOG.dk
Says:
January 11th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
… Zhoumo mener dog i en leder, at der er tale om en stramning (via
China Media Project): “According to the regulations, companies hereafter
applying to offer online video and …
