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Balancing Net freedoms with public interest
Source: Xinhua |
March 12, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
YAN Qi, who runs a booming restaurant chain in southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality, was shocked when her eatery's Website, www.cn-taoranju.com, was attacked by hackers.
It happened just days after Yan, also a member of the national advisory body, or the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), proposed in the body's annual session that all Internet cafes be run by the government - to effectively keep teenagers away from unhealthy content.
Yan's proposal generated widespread criticism by Netizens. A survey by the QQ.com, where young Chinese Internet surfers converge, showed more than 60 percent of those polled said they disagreed with such a "drastic" and "irrational" idea.
The hacker incident experienced by Yan underscores a dilemma faced by the Chinese government, that is, to allow Netizens sufficient space to express themselves, while also ensuring the Internet remains a platform for responsible voices.
As China's Internet population grew to the world's largest, at 384 million by the end of 2009, the task of Internet regulation becomes arduous as some unnamed sources take advantage of cyberspace to spread obscene and illegal content in return for fat profits.
Real names
Wang Xia, a deputy to the National People's Congress, submitted a bill to create a pilot program for using real names when making comments on online forums.
Wang, a justice of a Chongqing local court, said real-name systems could more accurately target violators and make them more responsible when commenting on public affairs.
However, Wang's view was opposed by many social researchers and media professionals who believed over-supervision is not desirable, since the Internet could be cleansed by itself.
Yu Guoming, deputy head of the School of Journalism of China Renmin University, said that Internet offered Netizens a space to vent their anger, which reduced the possibility that they do something harmful to the real society.
"If you press them too hard, they will explode in the end," Yu said, adding that over-supervision hurts social harmony and people's interests.
Last December, China launched a six-month campaign against online pornography as vulgar content had become prevalent through mobile WAP sites, which seriously threatened people's mental health.
The government has shut more than 16,000 pornographic Websites, checked 13.5 million domain names with 12,000 domain names becoming inaccessible by February 10, according to data released by the State Information Office.
The crackdown against online pornography is not only vigorous in China, but also a common practice in other countries.
In the United States, those found guilty of deliberate transmission of obscene content to minors face a two-year jail term. In Germany, telecom operators are obligated to report the list of illegal mobile message distributors to the federal government.
It happened just days after Yan, also a member of the national advisory body, or the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), proposed in the body's annual session that all Internet cafes be run by the government - to effectively keep teenagers away from unhealthy content.
Yan's proposal generated widespread criticism by Netizens. A survey by the QQ.com, where young Chinese Internet surfers converge, showed more than 60 percent of those polled said they disagreed with such a "drastic" and "irrational" idea.
The hacker incident experienced by Yan underscores a dilemma faced by the Chinese government, that is, to allow Netizens sufficient space to express themselves, while also ensuring the Internet remains a platform for responsible voices.
As China's Internet population grew to the world's largest, at 384 million by the end of 2009, the task of Internet regulation becomes arduous as some unnamed sources take advantage of cyberspace to spread obscene and illegal content in return for fat profits.
Real names
Wang Xia, a deputy to the National People's Congress, submitted a bill to create a pilot program for using real names when making comments on online forums.
Wang, a justice of a Chongqing local court, said real-name systems could more accurately target violators and make them more responsible when commenting on public affairs.
However, Wang's view was opposed by many social researchers and media professionals who believed over-supervision is not desirable, since the Internet could be cleansed by itself.
Yu Guoming, deputy head of the School of Journalism of China Renmin University, said that Internet offered Netizens a space to vent their anger, which reduced the possibility that they do something harmful to the real society.
"If you press them too hard, they will explode in the end," Yu said, adding that over-supervision hurts social harmony and people's interests.
Last December, China launched a six-month campaign against online pornography as vulgar content had become prevalent through mobile WAP sites, which seriously threatened people's mental health.
The government has shut more than 16,000 pornographic Websites, checked 13.5 million domain names with 12,000 domain names becoming inaccessible by February 10, according to data released by the State Information Office.
The crackdown against online pornography is not only vigorous in China, but also a common practice in other countries.
In the United States, those found guilty of deliberate transmission of obscene content to minors face a two-year jail term. In Germany, telecom operators are obligated to report the list of illegal mobile message distributors to the federal government.
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