Chinese judiciary unveils new rules to regulate online rumours

China’s supreme judicial authorities on Monday announced a new set of guidelines to take affect on Tuesday that formally link online speech to four existing crimes – libel, creating disturbances, illegal business operations and extortion.

People who post online rumours will be charged with defamation if the posts are visited by 5,000 internet users or reposted more than 500 times, according to the new rules.

Those convicted face up to three years in prison.

In addition, people using abusive language or threatening others online may be guilty of “creating disturbances”, it said.

The guidelines also cover illegal activities such as blackmail. Soliciting money from an individual by threatening to publish negative information about them or charging money to delete false information published online are categorised as extortion.

The rules define charging for publishing false information as a form of illegal business operation.

The measures come in the wake of an ongoing government crackdown on online rumours that has witnessed arrests of a number of “rumour mongers” in the past month. Many view it as a bid by the Chinese government to justify the heavy-handed campaign by issuing a judicial interpretation and outlining tough punishments for online speech and criticism deemed inflammatory or subversive.