Chi restricts sharing of ‘unofficial’ videos on social media

Hong Kong, Dec 21:  Chi has banned its internet users from sharing on the social media videos that are not from official sources, media reports said. The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (Chi), in a notice, said Chinese social media platforms WeChat and Weibo were not allowed to dissemite user-generated audio or video programmes about current events, reported the Guardian on Tuesday. “The move is likely to weed out smaller players,” said Duncan Clark, founder of investment advisory firm BDA Chi, which specialises in the Chinese Internet. “The government prefers to have concentration on larger sites, where it has greater sway. There has also been an explosion of live-streaming sites in recent years, and the government is keen to rein them in and assert control,” he said. But the larger implications for Chi’s already limited freedom of online speech will depend on how strongly the new rules are implemented, Clark said.(IANS)