IN A country where Twitter and Facebook are banned, the microblog of choice for 200 million Chinese is Weibo, but tightening restrictions on dissent mean this platform too is on the wrong side of the vast system of control known as The Great Firewall of China.
The ruling Communist Party keeps a firm grip on traditional media and the government already blocks many popular social media sites, including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
Fearful of the spread of Middle East-style protests against authoritarian rule, and of any destabilising influences ahead of a change of leadership next year, Beijing has been asserting itself among online outlets.
Weibo’s operators, Sina, are cracking down on “the spread of false rumours” after the party told internet companies to tighten control over information online. It has set up a channel called “Weibo Refutes Rumours” to spread denials of what it deems to be false information.
There had been speculation for weeks a crackdown was coming, but the first concrete signs came when Beijing municipal Communist Party boss Liu Qi visited Sina last week and urged the company to “stop the spread of false and harmful information” and “create a healthy online media atmosphere”.
Weibo sent notices to users denying two reports posted on the site, including one about the killing of a 19-year-old woman by a man with political influence. It said the accounts of users who originated the reports were temporarily closed.
It will have a tough job keeping a grip on web bulletin boards and microblogging because of their popularity. They allow China’s general public to express opinions to a wide audience, which is a rare opportunity.
In the case of many outbreaks of public anger this year – from complaints over Beijing’s handling of the Wenzhou high-speed rail crash, to reaction to uprisings in the Middle East – calls for protest have come on Weibo.
The online reaction to the train crash forced the authorities to promise an “open and transparent” investigation regarding the cause of the crash, and to introduce tighter safety checks.
Like most of China’s big internet companies, Sina is privately held. It is faced with the choice of introducing a form of self-censorship or risk losing its rights to operate in the world’s fastest growing major online market.
China has the world’s largest online population, with 485 million users, and its economy needs the internet to keep information and logistics flowing.
The government dislikes the platform it provides for dissent and has tried to control content and steer the internet towards commercial applications rather than political territory.