BEIJING, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- China has announced new rules aimed at tightening control over news items posted on the Internet, threatening "severe punishments" for those who do not comply.
The new measures were released Sunday by the State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Information Industry, Xinhua reported Monday.
Reports including fabricated information, pornography, gambling or violence are forbidden, as are those that endanger state security, reveal state secrets or spark ethnic violence.
Also banned are preaching cultist or superstitious beliefs and publishing views that conflict with the government's religious policies.
Finally, organizations cannot publish reports that incite social unrest, instigate public protests or organize assemblies.
Sites providing online news stories, bulletin board systems and short messaging services for mobile phones are all subject to the rules.
Chinese authorities already filter and monitor Internet content considered politically sensitive or pornographic. Dissidents and journalists have been jailed for posting commentaries that Beijing considers threatening.
