Asian Insight

China and social media - a “common agreement”

It’s being reported through a number of sites that China’s leading internet giants such as Sina, Alibaba and Baidu have come to a “common agreement” with the Chinese government regarding greater control of information available across the internet and social media. 

According to these reports, the agreement looks to “stop the spreading of harmful information” - the meaning of this however is uncertain. Wang Chen, director of the State Council Information Office said that it will “curb the spread of rumours online, online pornography [and] Internet fraud” which for the majority of internet users will be regarded positively. 

The agreement, however, could also impact China’s social media users who use the sites to share news and information which is typically shared through controlled media. Is an accident considered harmful information? Will Weibo users be prosecuted for sharing recent events? 

I know I always go back to it, but social media is rapidly expanding in China with Sina and Tencent Weibo boasting close to 500 million members. Just how much control is the government able to have now? What is the reaction going to be from China’s netizens? 

- Charlotte