China may have targeted video sharing site

BEIJING, June 20 (UPI) -- The long suspension of Chinese video-sharing site 56.com has led some analysts to suggest the YouTube-style site was targeted by regulators.

The popular Web site has bore a message on its homepage since June 3 that claims the site is down for a server upgrade, but analysts said it is unlikely that such a routine procedure would take the more than two weeks that the site has been down, The Times of London reported Friday.

The Chinese government in recent weeks has been closely scrutinizing 56.com and similar sites. New rules issued in December 2007 state that video-sharing sites must be part state owned but regulators later clarified that some privately-owned sites may be allowed to continue operating if they apply for licenses and agree to content restrictions.

However, such licenses have not been issued to 56.com and its two largest competitors, Tudou.com and Youku.com. Analysts said Tudou has closer ties to Beijing than 56.com, which they suggested might be why it has faced less scrutiny.