China’s ongoing efforts to crack down on the country’s growing independent digital media presence has resulted in over 100, 000 social media accounts being penalized by authorities. They are accused of violating the newly-established “Seven Bottom Lines” directive, or seven rules to follow for behaving online.
The guidelines were drawn up late this summer at the China Internet Conference in Beijing, by the head of the State Internet Information Office, Lu Wei. At the meeting, which was attended by a combination of government officials, popular Weibo microblog personalities, and media members, Lu requested attendees to support the document, which included considering seven rules or "standards" before posting: the legal standard; the socialist system standard; the national interest standard; the legitimate interest of citizens standard; the public order standard; the moral standard; and the authenticity of information standard.
Determined to rein in China’s most outspoken public outlet, authorities have stepped in. According to a report by state-owned Beijing Youth Daily, 103,673 accounts on Weibo were penalized for violating various bottom lines. Though the paper did not detail specific posts that triggered penalization, or the specific punishments, a suspension of the offending accounts is likely. The report did say that a majority of the social media accounts involved violated a variety of the bottom lines, with many people publishing false information, plagiarized content, personal attacks, and pornographic or vulgar materials. State media and authorities have criticized Weibo for being a “rumor distribution center” and have made a conscious effort to decrease false news from going viral. The newspaper said that last year inaccurate information was disseminated 4,000 times a day on average. This year, that number has allegedly dropped to just 500.
When first announced, the seven bottom lines were seen as directives to self-censorship, particularly targeted at China’s ‘big V’ Weibo users -- the movers and shakers of the platform who have a huge following, and range from celebrities to CEOs. China’s most prominent bloggers were asked to be more conscious of what they post, because of their position as influencers in the digital realm.
According to an account by Global Voices, one of China’s big-V Internet celebrities and one of the real estate tycoons behind China’s Soho developments, Pan Shiyi, was one of the people who left the meeting with doubts. “People should not be considered a passive subject who need to be educated or channeled… I don’t think [online celebrities] should be responsible for lifting people’s morality. It won’t work.”
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Note: Photo by Shutterstock.com.
Over 100,000 Weibo Accounts Penalized In China For Distributing 'Unlawful' Content
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