Along with the rapid development of the Internet in China the net publications have made their debut as a newborn thing of the time and in the meanwhile there occurs a series of problems that must be put under effective control. Therefore, the State Press and Publication Administration and the Ministry of Information Industry jointly issued the Provisional Regulation on Management and Control of Internet Publications, in which it requires to intensify the supervision and control of the Internet publications, stipulating explicitly the rights and obligations of the Internet publication organizations so as to promote a healthy and orderly development of the publication business on the net.
As learned, what the regulation for Internet publication covers refers to the Internet information service in which the information suppliers provide the terminal users with the works of their own, the compiled and adapted works of others by way of Internet for the users to browse, read and download. The works mainly cover the authentically published books, newspapers, periodicals and audio-visual works as well as electronic publications or other works and contents ever published on other media and the works of art and literature, natural science and engineering technologies through compilation and adaptation.
The regulation will be in force as from August 1, 2002 onwards. The units engaged in the Internet publication activities in line with the state regulations before have to go through the approval in accordance with the regulation within 60 days after its entering into effect.
Editor responsibility system
The organizations engaged in Internet publications should put the editor responsibility system into practice. There must be editors specialized in supervising and controlling the contents to be published in order to ensure the legality of the contents published on the net.
According to the regulation, the organizations engaged in the Internet publications should mark out on the homepages their serial numbers as approved by press and publication administration.
Should the contents published are not true or unjust which incur the violation of interests and rights of citizens, corporate persons or other lawful organizations the organization for the publications must make open correction in order to wipe out the influence and take up civil liabilities in conformity with the law.
The activities carried out by relevant organizations must observe the state law and decrees of copyrights and should mark out the proper signs of copyright related to the works published or delivered on the net.
No religious cult and superstition
The Internet Publication organizations should keep duplicated copies of contents and dates, websites and domain names published or delivered on the net for some 60 days and bring them forward when state departments concerned are going to make a check on them. Any violation shall be ordered to make rectification or shutdown of the website should the case be serious.
In accordance with the provisional regulation jointly brought out by the State Press and Publication Administration and the Ministry of Information Industry the Internet publications must not carry any contents in propagation of religious cult and superstition.
In addition, the regulation has listed clearly in a separate clause that the publications for the underage must not include any contents instigating them to mimic the behaviors against social ethics or for committing crimes nor should they include any such contents as terrorism and cruelty that will do harm to the psychological health of the underage.
Activities must be subject to approval
To engage in Internet publication activities it must be subject to approval. Any publication activity without authentication on the net shall be banned without fail and all the facilities, special tools used for illegal publications and illegal earnings shall be confiscated and subject to fine.
The provisional regulation brought out by the State Press and Publication Administration and the Ministry of Information Industry has made a clear-cut stipulation as to the above-mentioned. As learned, for a unit to engage in the Internet publication business it must be able to accord with the four conditions in exception to the Provisional Regulation on Management and Control of Internet Publications.
They are to have a definite scope for publication business, to have rules and regulations abiding by the law, decrees and stipulations and to have a necessary organization and special personnel for compilation and publication as well as an amount of funds, facilities and places catering to the publications.
(People's Daily July 16, 2002)
