China announces penalty points plan to curb abuse of internet
Regulator announces carrot-and-stick system for internet users, with analysts saying it will target commercial fraud and pornography
Mainland censors will track and penalise individual and group internet users for "illegal activity and dishonest behaviour" under a new centralised "credit" system.
Analysts said the system could be designed to crack down on pornography and online fraud.
Under the new system, users with good credit would be rewarded, while those amassing black marks would be penalised, People's Daily reported on its website yesterday, quoting State Internet Information Office director Lu Wei .
Lu announced the move at an internet security forum for lawyers, legal academics and judicial officials in Beijing on Friday, but did not say how the system would work or specify the kinds of violations.
One Beijing-based academic who attended the session said Lu's announcement about the system was brief.
"I think by 'illegal activities and dishonest behaviour' Lu was referring to all sorts of online activities deemed as illegal in judicial interpretations, from message fraud to online pornography," the academic said.
Hong Daode , a criminal law expert from China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, said the proposed system was aimed at two types of internet users, those using the internet as a platform for fraud and those defaulting on payments to internet service providers.