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China’s online speech crackdown extended as cyber watchdog targets bloggers
- Social media sites say those without government permit may not post on current affairs, politics and ‘distorting content of [Communist] Party, China’s history’
- Posts on Covid-19 are criticised and newly banned topics include health and judicial matters, as stricter regulation under President Xi Jinping continues
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Ma Xiaolin frequently wrote about current affairs on one of China’s leading microblogging sites, where he has 2 million followers. But recently, he said in a post, the site, Weibo, called and asked him not to post original content on topics ranging from politics to economic and military issues.
“As an international affairs researcher and a columnist, it looks like I can only go the route of entertainment, food and beverage now,” the international relations professor wrote on January 31.
Ma, who often posted on developments in the Middle East, is one of many popular influencers working within the constraints of China’s heavily censored web who is finding that their space to speak is shrinking even further with the latest policy changes and a clean-up campaign run by the country’s powerful censors. He declined an interview request.
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Beginning next week, the Cyberspace Administration of China will require bloggers and influencers to have a government-approved credential before they can publish on a wide range of subjects. Some fear that only state media and official propaganda accounts will get permission.
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How China censors the internet
How China censors the internet
While permits have been needed since at least 2017 to write about topics such as political and military affairs, enforcement has not been widespread. The new rules expand that requirement to health, economics, education and judicial matters.
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