China Goes After Mobile Apps in Widening Online Crackdown

A national command center charged with "managing information" available to China's millions of Internet users has warned that the country's hugely popular mobile news apps could face closure if they don't "clean up" some of their content.

The State Internet Information Office, directly under the control of China's cabinet, or State Council, said this week that authorities will move to shutter any apps that fail to "maintain order in news dissemination on the mobile Internet."

It named news aggregator Zaker, which has 17.5 million users, and Chouti, which uses the slogan "Publish what shouldn't be published," as being among those failing to comply with government guidelines.

The move comes amid a nationwide clampdown on online "rumors," which commentators said is a thinly veiled bid to further curb freedom of expression on China's Internet, which is already subject to a complex system of blocks, filters, and human censorship known as the "Great Firewall."

"This is another step backwards for freedom of expression," veteran Hangzhou-based journalist and blogger Zan Aizong said of the announcement on Tuesday, adding that it has taken the authorities a while to catch up to the importance of mobile, or client, apps.

"Client apps were a relatively new thing, so they didn't know that ... actually their impact was huge."

News and information-based mobile apps have grown in popularity in recent months following stringent regulation of China's formerly vibrant Twitter-like services, as they have been able to load news content, some of it from overseas, that would have been censored elsewhere.

But the Internet Information Office, set up in May 2011 to direct, coordinate, and supervise online content, appears to be signaling that mobile apps are next on the government's priority list.

'Pornography and obscene information'

The majority of Chinese netizens—currently 460 million out of a total 591 million—access the Internet via their mobile devices, although overseas sites like CNN, The New York Times, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are all blocked.

The State Internet Information Office said that some Chinese mobile apps carry "pornography and obscene information and harm the physical and mental health of youngsters" while others publish false information. 

China has a long history of cracking down on Internet services that publish information the ruling Chinese Communist Party doesn't like under the guise of anti-pornography campaigns, rights activists say.

According to Zan, Chinese mobile apps have been an important source of blocked news for China's Internet users.

"Client apps can actually feed news from overseas [direct to people's cell phones], and this is likely to include sensitive keywords; they can download anything they see from The New York Times or foreign news agencies," Zan said.

"They want these client apps to toe the Party line."

Crackdown on 'rumor-mongering'

Zhu Xinxin, a former editor with state-run Hebei TV, said the move was part of an ongoing crackdown on online "rumors."

"The Chinese Communist Party historically has never been able to face up to reality, so it suppresses all voices," Zhu said.

"On the face of it, they look united, but actually they are deceiving others and deceiving themselves."

In a fresh bid to curb China's usually outspoken social media sites, the Supreme People’s Court and state prosecution service issued guidelines on Sept. 9 warning that Internet "rumor-mongering" is a crime punishable under law.

Anyone posting information online deemed by the authorities to be "spreading rumors" or "defaming" another person could be punished for a serious offense if the post is subsequently viewed at least 5,000 times or re-posted at least 500 times.

Zhu said a sensitive political event and a growing fear of nationwide unrest were probably driving the move.

"Firstly, social conflicts are intensifying across the country, and the Chinese Communist Party is afraid that anywhere could prove to be a burning fuse that sets the whole country alight," Zhu said.

"Secondly, the Chinese Communist Party is approaching its plenary session, so it wants to create a sense of stability and harmony on the surface, and unify public opinion."

Last month, 16-year-old Gansu tweeter Yang Hui was held under administrative detention for seven days and expelled from his high-school after using Sina Weibo to cast doubts on official accounts of a local man's death.

His detention prompted a public outcry and an online campaign for his release.

Reported by Yang Fan for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.