China has ordered one of the country's largest social media platforms to suspend key portals, including its trends-search feature. The internet watchdog has called for social media to "serve the direction of socialism."
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The Cyberspace Administration of China late Saturday ordered Sina Weibo, one of the country's largest social media platforms, to temporarily shut down several portals for spreading content that allegedly contradicts Chinese values.
Since last year, China has increased pressure on native social media platforms to censor "content of wrong public opinion orientation," including "obscenity, low taste, and ethnic discrimination."
The content targeted in the internet watchdog's order included rap music, celebrity gossip, dirty jokes and crude cartoons.
The social media platform said it complied with the order and accepted criticism about "harmful content" circulating on its service.
The targeted portals included a trending topics search site and a page that allowed users to ask celebrities questions about their personal lives.
Weibo, a Chinese microblogging platform akin to Twitter, is expected to leave the portals offline for a week as part of the government order.
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Social media law
After a public debate in Germany, a new law on social media came into effect in October. The legislation imposes heavy fines on social media companies, such as Facebook, for failing to take down posts containing hate speech. Facebook and other social media companies have complained about the law, saying that harsh rules might lead to unnecessary censorship.
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Right to be forgotten
In 2014, the European Court of Justice ruled that European citizens had the right to request search engines, such as Google and Bing, remove "inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive" search results linked to their name. Although Google has complied with the ruling, it has done so reluctantly, warning that it could make the internet as "free as the world's least free place."
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Blanket ban
In May 2017, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Russian social media platforms and web services. The blanket ban affected millions of Ukrainian citizens, many of whom were anxious about their data. The move prompted young Ukrainians to protest on the streets, calling for the government to reinstate access to platforms that included VKontakte (VK), Russia's largest social network.
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Safe Harbor
In 2015, the European Court of Justice ruled that Safe Harbor, a 15-year-old pact between the US and EU that allowed the transfer of personal data without prior approval, was effectively invalid. Austrian law student Max Schrems launched the legal proceedings against Facebook in response to revelations made by former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, Edward Snowden.
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Regulation
In China, the use of social media is highly regulated by the government. Beijing has effectively blocked access to thousands of websites and platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Instead, China offers its citizens access to local social media platforms, such as Weibo and WeChat, which boast hundreds of millions of monthly users.
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Censorship?
China's internet regulator said Weibo had "violated the country's laws and regulations, led online public opinions to (the) wrong direction and left a very bad influence."
The Chinese government said the measures were aimed at maintaining "social stability." Beijing has continued to argue that online news and social media services need to "serve the direction of socialism and correctly guide public opinion."
Digital rights groups have warned of growing censorship in China, with the Washington-based Freedom House dubbing China the "worst abuser of internet freedom" last year.
Since 2015, China has shut down more than 15,000 websites for allegedly breaking the law, but rights groups warn it's part of a wider crackdown on free expression and dissentImage: picture-alliance/dpa/epa/D. Azubel
How many internet users does China have: China is considered to have the largest population of internet users in the world, clocking in at more than 735 million, according to figures from the UN International Telecommunication Union.
What happens next: The government order said Weibo must suspend the portals in question for a week. They will likely be brought online after that period, but be subjected to further "regulatory oversight."
