China Plans to Crack Down on Online Videos
Showings to Be Restricted to Sites Owned or Controlled by the Government
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Friday, January 4, 2008
HONG KONG, Jan. 3 -- China has moved to restrict online videos, including those posted on video-sharing Web sites, to state-controlled sites and to require those Internet providers to delete and report some content.
It wasn't clear how the new rules would affect YouTube and other Web sites based in other countries that are available in China.
A spokesman for San Bruno, Calif.-based YouTube said the restrictions "could be a cause for concern, depending on the interpretation."
Tudou, which claims to be China's largest video-sharing Web site, didn't respond to an e-mail requesting comment.
The regulations, which are to take effect Jan. 31, were approved by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the Information Industry Ministry. They were described on their Web sites Thursday.
Under the new policy, Web sites that provide video programming or allow users to upload video will have to have permits and be either state-owned or state-controlled.
Most Internet video providers in China are private, according to an explanation of the regulations posted on Chinafilm.com, which is run by the China Film Group, a state organization.
Video that involves national secrets, hurts China's reputation, disrupts social stability or promotes pornography will be banned. Providers will be required to delete and report such content.
"Those who provide Internet video services should insist on serving the people, serve socialism . . . and abide by the moral code of socialism," the rules say.
Permits are subject to renewal every three years and operators who commit "major" violations may be banned from providing online video programming for five years.
Adhering to the rules could be difficult for YouTube, to which about 10 hours of online video is uploaded every minute.
None of YouTube's video-hosting computers is in China, but the government could block access to the site from within China.
YouTube hopes the rules won't cause it to be cut off from the rapidly growing number of Chinese residents with Internet access, said Ricardo Reyes, a spokesman.
"We believe that the Chinese government fully recognizes the enormous value of online video and will not enforce the regulations in a way that could deprive the Chinese people of its benefits and potential for business and economic development, education and culture, communication, and entertainment," Reyes said.
China is the world's second-largest Internet market with a total audience of about 164 million, including people who surf the Web from public computers, according to the research firm ComScore.
Only the United States, with about 182 million Internet users, has a larger online audience.
YouTube says people around the world watch more than 200 million videos on its site each day. It would not say how much of its traffic comes from China.
