Administrative licensing of internet news management
The management of online news began with the management of “internet-based outreach”, which was designed to tighten the internet portal and attempt to introduce licensing, with a number of changes in specific management measures and requirements. Administrative authorization constitutes the main feature of our internet news management。
(i) accreditation of public information units
The interim regulation on the use of the internet for public information, which was introduced in 1997, specifies that the “public information unit” “accessible” is limited to “public press and other external publications (including print and audio)” and that non-public newspapers are excluded from the internet. The public information unit has access to the network on a prior approval basis, with the new office. The content to be disseminated on the internet must be “unified in the central public information platform”, and it is prohibited to “enter the network by other means” or “on its own”。
However, the requirement for “unified access” to the central public information platform is clearly not realistic. In 1998, the new zealand office and the public information and publications department jointly issued the supplementary provisions on the use of the internet for public information dissemination, which adjusted the 1997 interim regulations on the use of the internet for public information: the various media outlets that were granted access to the internet allowed applications for independent domain names while “linking information to the china internet news centre”。
In accordance with the requirements of the above-mentioned provisions, the online news service cannot be published without permission and must be approved by the administrative authorities and filed by both departments before it can be published through the required access channels. As a result, approval has become the tone of our online news management since then。
(ii) classification management of news posted on the website
On 6 november 2000, the ministry of the information industry and the office of the united nations high commissioner for human rights jointly issued a departmental regulation on the interim regulations for the management of internet sites for the publication of news。
As can be seen from the publication body of the interim regulations for the administration of the service of public information on internet sites, the new office is the sole authority for internet news publishing, and the ministry of information industry assists the new office in managing it as the internet technology and industry authority。
This interim provision explicitly defines its regulatory framework as “an internet site for publishing news” and no longer as an institutional “public information unit”, so that commercial websites are also covered. The interim regulations for the management of internet stations in public information operations, which provide for “classification” for different management constituencies, set out different regulatory requirements:
(1) restrictions on eligibility for the establishment of a news site at the administrative level. Only three types of news outlets are allowed to set up information websites: the central press unit, the public information unit of the various departments of the central state organs, the provincial press unit and the municipal press unit of the provincial capital. Press outlets below provincial capitals are not allowed to build independent news websites。
(2) the news website carries out news operations that require approval from the new office。
(3) websites created by non-news outlets are divided into two categories. The first is a comprehensive, non-public information unit, and the second is an internet site for non-public information units, which can only publish information issued by the central press unit, by the departmental press units of the central state organs and by the provincial press units. The latter, in turn, does not allow any kind of news publishing. However, the above-mentioned provisional provisions do not specify criteria for distinguishing between the two types of websites。
(4) a comprehensive non-public information unit website is required to enter into a press service agreement with the relevant news provider and report to the provincial press office. News posted on the website should indicate the source and date of the news. This is in fact a de facto regulation by the executive of civil acts in the non-administrative sphere of administrative relativists。
(5) the express “nix deny” of the administrative legislation on internet information management has also been applied to the administrative legislation on online news management, and the interim regulation on the administration of internet stations for the conduct of news operations specifies that news posted on internet sites may not contain “nix denied” content。
(6) the above-mentioned provisional provisions provide for strict authorization for the establishment and operation of news websites. Information websites are only allowed to be set up in provincial capitals and above, and those below provincial capitals are only allowed to “post” their own web pages on central or provincial news sites. According to this provision, it is not possible to set up their own news websites, let alone other municipalities, in sub-provincial cities such as aoshima, ningbo, shenzhen and dalian. In practice, this provision has not been strictly enforced, as has the restrictions on the right of access to the press on websites (see below). At the same time, the interim provision requires that “internet sites are linked to offshore news sites, where news is posted in foreign news media and internet sites”, which must be approved separately。
(iii) enhancement and extension of administrative permits
In the years following the publication of the interim regulations for the management of internet websites for the development of news operations, new internet technologies have emerged, and new technological applications, such as blogs, have led to significant changes in the form and content of web-based information dissemination, many of which are outdated or not feasible. On 25 september 2005, the new office and the ministry of information industry jointly published the regulation on the management of the information and information services on the internet, replacing the interim regulation on the management of internet stations for the conduct of news operations, which has thus far served as the main basis for the management of online news by our internet news authorities。
The regulation on internet news and information services identifies the subject of supervision as three types of “internet news and information services” and applies different “access conditions” to their respective qualifications for internet news and information services: “only those whose content has been broadcast” (which can be called “news pages”) established by the news unit, with a more liberal filing process. Production
(b) the two main subjects of the “news unit” that have published news beyond what it has published” (known as the “news website”) and the “non-news unit” (known as the “comprehensive commercial website”) that provide information such as the reproduction of information (known as the “comprehensive commercial website”) are subject to approval, i. E., approval from the press office of the state council as the competent authority to obtain a “internet news information service licence” before they can be accessed by the telecommunications authorities, i. E. The ministry of industry and communications and the provincial telecommunications administrations。
Administrative regulations related to the management of internet news also include the measures for the management of information services on the internet (state council, 25 september 2000), the regulations for the management of electronic announcement services on the internet (ministry of information industry, 6 november 2000), and the measures for the management of audio-visual programs for the dissemination of information networks, including the internet, and audio-visual programmes (general authority for broadcasting, 11 october 2004), the regulations for the management of audio-visual programmes on the internet (general authority for broadcasting, ministry of information industry, 31 january 2008), the circular on strengthening the management of content of audio-visual programmes on the internet (general authority for broadcasting, 31 march 2009). According to incomplete statistics, 18 administrative permits were issued for internet information services, 8 were filed and 16 were issued. This means that access to internet news and information services should also be subject to administrative permits issued by other administrative authorities, such as the “operational electronic bulletin service licence” of the ministry of information industry, the “infonet broadcasting licence” of the general directorate of radio and television, the “internet publishing licence” of the general directorate of press and publications and the “citizens of network culture” of the ministry of culture (see table 1)。
Table 1 statistical table of administrative licences for internet information services
Although the institutional framework for government management of web-based news is largely stereotypical, internet technology continues to drive change in the dissemination of web-based information and the system of government management of web-based news will be adapted to changing circumstances. As a common umbrella for the various sectoral legislation in the field of internet information dissemination, the administrative regulation of internet information services (the revised draft for consultation) of june 2012, which is open to public consultation, further refines the scope of administrative authorization, specifying the scope of the internet information service, providing internet users with access to information to the public, and internet information search services, subject to the authorization of the internet information content authorities, and adding a new regulation on the administrative authorization of internet audio-visual programmes (which can be seen as confirming the validity of the sectoral regulations established by the general authority for radio and television). In the above-mentioned permits, “provide an internet-based information service for the public”, which includes all internet services that allow internet users to speak freely, goes far beyond the internet news service, i. E., whether online forums (bbs), articles and posts, or blogs, microblogging or even shopping platforms such as poaching, where interactive services allow users to publish information to the public, with the permission of the appropriate authorities. Although the revised draft has not yet been considered for adoption, it can be argued that an ever-increasing administrative licence is the “dominant tone” of internet content management in our country。
