Draft moots Internet controls

A draft regulation on Internet safety, which would cut off access to the Internet for Net users who spread rumors online, was discussed by the Standing Committee of Liaoning Provincial People's Congress on Monday and seized public attention.

Members of the committee discussed and modified the draft and made some details more explicit, according to a Tuesday report in the Liaoning Daily.

But the conference left the controversial articles unchanged.

According to the draft, any institution or person is forbidden to publish, copy or spread illegal information that goes against the principles of the Constitution, threatens national safety, ignites racial hatred or disturbs public order by fabricating rumors.

Institutions or people who violate the regulation will receive a warning from police.

If the acts are severe, police will shut down their computers and forbid them from using the Internet for up to six months. Judicial punishments, including administrative or criminal liability, will be applied if the acts break the law.

The draft triggered widespread public discussion, amid controversies over the ways local governments have implemented the recent Criminal Law interpretation targeting online rumors.

Some Net users said that the draft represented an unreasonable extension of the present laws aimed at curbing online rumors, and said it would hurt freedom of speech online.

However, some law experts said that these pessimistic opinions are unwarranted as the draft is still under discussion, and any conflicting opinions will be considered.

A previous official statement released on the provincial government website shows that the draft, with the controversial article, has been there since it was first modified in April 2012. Since then it has been under discussion.

"It is still a draft now, meaning that lots of work could be done to make things right," Xin Haiguang, an observer of Internet trends, told the Global Times on Tuesday, adding that he doubted the effect of such a punishment as it was technically impossible to stop people from connecting to the Internet.

Others also highlighted this problem.

Duan Xingyan, a police officer in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, wrote on his Sina Weibo on Tuesday that the regulation would be difficult to implement as it was impossible for the police to have a 24-hour eye on someone to keep them off the Internet.

An unnamed employee in a Liaoning-based network company said that punishments against online crimes are enforced by police and that companies merely aid them. He added that if the police order them to cut someone's access to the Internet, they would shut down the IP address to prevent the offender from spreading more information, the Liaoshen Evening News reported Tuesday.

"Shutting down Net users' IP addresses is effective for those who are connected to fixed networks. But anyone can easily find a way to bypass the order by using a smartphone to connect with a mobile network or simply change to another computer elsewhere," Xin said.