China’s top cyber authority said on Monday it would carry out a “rectification” of Chinese mobile internet browsers to address what it called social concerns over the “chaos” of information being published online. China’s strict internet censorship rules have been tightened numerous times in recent years and in the latest crackdown, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has told firms operating mobile browsers that they have until Nov. 9 to conduct a “self examination” and rectify problems. “For some time, mobile browsers have grown in an uncivilised way ... and have become a gathering place and amplifier for dissemination of chaos by ‘self-media’,” the CAC said, referring to independently operated social media accounts, many of which publish news. Xiaomi and UCWeb declined to comment, while Tencent, Oppo, Sogou and 360 did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Legislation introduced in recent years by China include measures to restrict media outlets, surveillance measures for media sites and rolling campaigns to remove content deemed unacceptable.

Source: Standard Digital October 27, 2020 09:00 UTC