Milestone: China dominates Internet use

According to the latest official numbers from the China Internet Information Center, more than 590 million people in China use the Net (more than twice the number of US Internet users).  While the number of users is huge (more than the populations of almost every other country), penetration is still modest, with about 44.1% of Chinese adults having Internet access.  Interestingly, almost 80% access the Internet from their mobile phones - a factor that's also fostering rapid gains in penetration.

 

Source -  China has more internet users than any other country,  Pew Research Centers FactTank

China tackles news apps

Regulators in China's State Internet Information Office have issued a new ruling designed to shut down mobile news apps that don't get their content pre-approved by government regulators.  The move is part of China's campaign to curb "online rumours" and unfettered social media.  In September, China's top court and prosecutor ruled that people will be charged with defamation if online rumors they create are visited by more than 5000 users, or reposted more than 500 times, and subject to prison terms of three years.  Of course, no precise definition of rumor was provided, nor was there any limitation of state agents boosting views or reposts.  The announcement calls for authorities to close down all mobile apps that refuse to "rectify" their gatekeeping in order to "maintain order of news dissemination on the mobile internet."

The apps under challenge include Zaker and Chouti, both of which re-publish content from non-official sources - including from Western media like the New York Times (whose articles have been blocked in China).  According to news accounts outside China, press freedom lawyers and activists called the latest move a significant (but crude) expansion of state power to regulate Internet content in line with its oversight of traditional media.  As such, it's likely to be seen as a significant blow to those relying on microblogs and social media for unfiltered news and information.

Source -  China threatens closure of mobile news apps amid Internet crackdown, Yahoo! News Canada

China's Online Video market consolidates

China is an Internet outlier - particularly when it comes to who dominates online service categories.  Between the limits the state imposes on foreign firms, and language and cultural differences, the top online services in China are predominantly native firms - Baidu in search, Alibaba in e-commerce, Qzone and Weibo in social media.  As for online video, some firms are moving to consolidate what had been a fragmented market.

Last year, two of the larger video streaming sites in China merged, forming Youku-Todou.  Baidu, already China's dominant search engine, bought out its original partner for its video streaming service iQiyi, and recently announced its acquisition of video streaming service PPS.tv.  The moves created two claimants for the title of China's largest video platform (depending on how its measured).

Online video is huge in China, in part due to the scarcity of entertainment programs on state-operated TV.  Chinese online video users watch billions of videos monthly.  Video and search are the most popular online services in China, handily topping social media.  And revenues from online video is booming, with analysts predicting a five-fold increase from 2011 to 2016, mostly from advertising.
  Having a dominant position is important for advertising-supported media - dominant firms historically get an even higher share of total advertising revenues, while close competitors don't do as well (some advertisers don't want to buy both).  Some analysts argue that the future of online video in China will be in mobile, with video ads on mobile being the most effective, and most highly valued, segment of the online advertising market.  Youku Tudou claims 150 million daily mobile users for its online video content, and Baidu claimed 200 million monthly users for its iQiyi streaming service - and that was before its acquisition of PPS.tv.  (Note the difference metrics - daily vs. at least once a month).  That's out of 564 million Internet users, according to the latest Chinese government report.

Adding PPS.tv certainly puts Baidu in a better, more competitive position - but it's the content that ultimately drives online video use.  And the reports don't mention what this means in terms of content.  That makes it difficult to evaluate which, if either, will eventually dominate the Chinese online video market.

Sources -  Video streaming is China's big prize, and Baidu just edged closer to claiming it,  Quartz
Baidu Acquires PPS for $370 Million, Claims It's Now China's Biggest Video Platform,  TechinAsia

Edited - Fix typo in header, 13/5/2013

China to Push Broadband Deployment

China's Ministry of Industry and IT has announced plans to significantly increase broadband Internet deployment and use in the next few years.  The basic goal is to extend broadband coverage to 95% of the country by 2015, and its adoption by 250 million users.  (The 95% probably refers to population reach rather than geographic coverage).  While the announcement did not provide specifics as to how that would be achieved, Ministry leaders have previously urged Chinese tech industries to increase research and development, with a goal of developing inexpensive yet reliable equipment to meet the various needs of smaller schools, communities, and small and medium-sized enterprises.  The Ministry has also signaled that additional regulations are in the works "to ensure fair competition" and "smooth development" in the broadband sector.
  According to the Internet Society of China, there are currently more than 150 million broadband users, and 355 million users with dial-up Internet access.

Source -  China to speed up broadband rollouts,  telecoms.com

China Moves to Censor Online Video

According to the AP, broadcast and internet regulators in China have told online video providers that all programs must be pre-screened before they are made publicly available, ostensibly in response to the growing number of online videos with "vulgar content, excessive violence, or pornography."  The regulatory agencies claimed that the new rules would protect young people and promote high-quality online programs.
  China has a long history of censoring content - from banning or limiting imports, setting standards for traditional media (and punishing perceived transgressions), to restricting access to a number of foreign Internet sites (including YouTube), and monitoring online content.  Still, China also relies heavily on self-censorship from outlets to make sure that only "appropriate" content is made available.
  In this case, someone in the PR office for a major online video provider in China, commented on her company's policy

"Nothing with vulgar or violent materials will pass," said the woman, who did not give her name because she said she was not authorized to speak on the record. "Political speech? If it is anti-party and anti-society, it definitely will not pass. No website will allow such content."

Source -  China wants to censor online video content,  Broadcast Newsroom

China goes offline, for a while

Internet users in China found themselves unable to access any foreign websites for about an hour Thursday morning (local time), prompting speculation that China's extensive censorship system was being tested or tightened.
  China's "great firewall" regularly blocks many sites hosted in other countries, but web users in many areas reported they were unable to reach any foreign sites at all - even "approved" websites.  At about the same time, there were reports from Hong Kong (which lies outside the "great firewall") and elsewhere that web users were unable to access any websites hosted on the Chinese mainland.
  While there was no immediate official recognition or explanation offered for the service interruption, one high official at a major Chinese internet portal suggested it was a result of a technical failure in the backbone network.  Others suggested it might have been a result of a software upgrade in backbone operations, or even an adjustment to the list of blocked foreign sites that got out of control.  Speculation that the disruption was intentional and related to official censorship efforts was fueled by a recent crackdown on "internet rumors" that had resulted in the removal of more than 200,000 online posts and the closure of more than 40 websites in the last month.
  China's connection to the outside Internet is funneled through three channels, making it easier to monitor and block international data flows.  Relying on only a few interconnections, however, also makes the system more vulnerable to a technical problem or failure at those key points.  Given their history, while Chinese authorities will eventually release an official explanation, speculation about the real cause will continue for a while.

Source - China's internet users temporarily blocked from foreign websites, The Guardian (UK)

edit track - fixed link to source article

TV and China

Interesting juxtaposition of two items about TV and Chnia.  In the first, China announced that it will be launching a state-run TV network in the U. S.  The channel, to be called "TodayChina" will initially be available via digital broadcast in the New York City area.  The channel will reportedly offer news and entertainment programming in both English and Chinese.as a means of propagating Chinese culture internationally.

On the domestic front, the state is also cracking down on local broadcasting, in response to President Hu Jintao's crackdown on the spread of "foreign influence" on China's society.

“International forces are trying to Westernize and divide us by using ideology and culture,” Hu said in an October speech that was reprinted as a signed essay in Qiushi, a magazine backed by the ruling Communist Party, and published on the government’s website on Jan. 1.

 On January 3, 2012, state0run Xinhua News Service posted a news release detailing draconian changes in local broadcasting in China.  The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) reported that a new rule would force cancellation of two-thirds of local and satellite television stations' prime time entertainment programming.  Each outlet would be limited to broadcasting no more than 2 entertainment shows a week,  Entertainment programming would be limited to no more than 90 minutes in prime time, while stations would have to provide at least 2 hours of news, including at least 2 separate shows of 30 minutes or longer.  The agency's list of restricted programs includes dating shows, talent shows, talk shows, and "emotional shows of 'excessive entertainment' and 'low taste'."

It reminds me of a similar announcement when I visited Shanghai a few years ago, when reacting to supposed infiltration of Western ideas into local television, the head of SARFT announced a ban on "colored" hair and skimpy clothes by Chinese performers on TV.  Then, the emerging middle class fled to the Internet for their content - but China also seems poised to make another attempt to restrict access to outside content through the Net.  Will this close off rising unrest with a heavy-handed state apparatus, or be seen as a short-term overreaction to the idea of independent thought?

Sources -  China to Start U.S. Television Channel as State Media Takes Culture Abroad,  Bloomberg
An Alarming Development in China That Everyone Has Missed, Business Insider

Net use in China

comScore recently released a report looking at how Internet users in Greater China (Mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) spend their time online. Portals accounted for 24.4%, and another 6.2% was spent on search or navigation.  Social networking accounted for 5.5% (a third of the global average), and retail sites accounted for another 5%.
Local or localized services were the primary sites within each category.  Tencent, Inc. was the largest portal, reaching almost two-thirds of Internet users in Greater China.  Baidu.com was the leading search site, totaling almost 60% of unique visitors.  On the retail side, Alibaba.com led the way, being used by 36.5% of respondents.  The Entertainment and Social Media categories seemed more competitive, with Youku the largest online video provider (used by 20%), and the Oak Pacific Interactive sites (including Renren.com) used by 18%.  On the other hand, those numbers are for all Internet users, not proportions of use within categories.
Overall, Internet use is expanding rapidly in China, and the PRC recently became the country with the largest number of Internet users.  Still, Internet access remains largely limited to urban areas, with most users accessing through Internet cafes or mobile devices.  Most large US Internet services have tried the China market, although they have found that government restrictions, language conflicts, and strong local competition have limited their success.

Source: "Portals and Entertainment Top Web Categories in China", Research Brief (a MediaPost Blog)

Gatekeeping, China-Style

If it was good enough for Hearst, it's good enough for authoritarian regimes, I guess. 
One of the stories oft told of William Randolph Hearst was that he would regularly send notes to the editors of his newspapers, listing stories they must run, and stories they must not.  It's been thought that authoritarian regimes often did the same, but thanks to the Internet, you can read what the weekly "do's and don'ts" for journalists and news organizations in China.  Here's last week's "directions."

Source: "Chinese editors, and a Web site, detail censors' hidden hand," Washington Post