China announced New Online Publishing Rules due to cyber security issues which took effect last Thursday. This provides authorities with a legal footing and explicit censorship powers to tighten cyber control.
According to the analysts, new rules are so wide-ranging that any arbitrary implementation will hurt the prospects for emerging and innovative industries which worth billions of dollars for china and whole world.
“In typical Chinese fashion, the regulator will have a lot of discretion in terms of how they implement these rules. I think they will end up using it in a fairly arbitrary way,” said Robert Atkinson, president of the Washington D.C.-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Robert Atkinson, president of the Washington D.C.-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
According to Statistics, With 54.3 billion users, the entire online gaming industry in China including mobile games, played on hand-held devices, was worth $21.7 billion last year.
“There exists a gray area, where China hasn’t yet requested [operators of] mobile games to secure an approval number prior to their release [on a product-by-product basis.] I think the newly-announced regulation will close the loophole for mobile games,” said Kuo Wen-chi, a gaming expert and an adjunct professor from Lunghwa University of Science and Technology in Taiwan.
“The App Store has a huge influence in the gaming industry. Certainly, it [China] doesn’t wish that the platform can carry games, which the Chinese government has no control over. I believe the government will definitely impose control,” Zhu said.
“In terms of how to manage [the flow], I think the government will enter talks with the App Store,” he added.
Also social media will also get effects of similar indirect control to manage online speech that is not accepted by Chinese authorities.
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