Cell phone service providers have been asked to cancel service to anyone whose sends or receives messages with “unhealthy content,” the New York Times reports:
China Mobile, one of the nation’s largest cellular providers, reported that text messages would automatically be scanned for “key words” provided by the police, according to China Daily, a state-controlled English-language newspaper. Messages will be deemed “unhealthy” if they violate undisclosed criteria established by the central government, the newspaper said.
The increased surveillance of text messages is the latest in a series of government efforts to severely tighten control of the Internet and other forms of communication.
Since late last year, China has closed hundreds of Web sites, including popular file-sharing sites, and limited its citizens’ ability to set up personal Web sites.
