After only a week, the Chinese government has decided to pull back from its video restriction rules. More on this, the motivations for the rules’ creation in the first place, and the initial criticism they received, can be found in this article from AFP:
China appears to have eased new rules allowing only state-owned entities to operate video-sharing services, saying existing private operators could remain in the fast-growing field after all.
State-owned companies would be the “dominant” force in leading the development of audio-visual content on the Chinese Web, a government statement seen on Wednesday said.
But that won’t rule out private firms that are in good standing with authorities.
For additional background information on this developing story, check out this link from Danwei and this interview with CDT’s own Xiao Qiang. See also an Los Angeles Times article “China Cracks Down on Irreverent Websites” which takes a harsher view of the crackdown.
