New China Internet Rules: Jail Time Await Libelous Comments Retweeted/Reposted 500 Times & Above

China has issued new rules for its netizens' use of the internet, indicating online rumour mongers and those who post libelous comments stand to face defamation charges as well as jail imprisonment of three years maximum time.

Authorities from China's Supreme People's Court and Procuratorate issued on Monday a judicial interpretation, the country's first nationwide ruling of its kind, that effectively targets defamation posted and spread on the Internet. Essentially a means to curb free speech in China.

A judicial interpretation is the equivalent of a Supreme Court ruling under Chinese rules. It carries great weight, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"In recent years, the Internet has been used to maliciously fabricate facts and damage the reputation of others ... and to concoct rumors that mislead the people, causing serious disruptions of social order and even mass incidents," Sun Jungong, a Supreme Court spokesman, said in a statement that was read live on television.

"People have been hurt and reaction in society has been strong, demanding with one voice serious punishment by the law for criminal activities like using the internet to spread rumors and defame people," Sun Jungong told reporters. "No country would consider the slander of other people as 'freedom of speech.'"

Chinese netizens who spread and share false information that defames or affects national interest face a maximum three years imprisonment if their posts are viewed 5,000 times or are forwarded, retweeted or reposted 500 times.

In a commentary, state news agency Xinhua stressed the rules only target netizens who sought to defame and blackmail others online.

"These cases have done greater social harm than traditional offenses, with some even disrupting social order and triggering unrest," the agency wrote.

"Greater responsibility necessary for greater freedom online," it stressed in one of its recent editorial.

As expected, free speech advocated immediately threw flak to the new ruling.

"This is the first time the government has clarified what is illegal on the Internet,'' Liu Xiaoyuan, a human rights lawyer in Beijing, was quoted by the Los Angeles Times. "Before, there were rules governing pornography, but they had not addressed the issue of free speech on the Internet."

Even netizens in other parts of the world blasted China's online rules.

Note: Rumours spread when Govt censor Media. RT @Techmeme: China threatens tough punishment 4 online rumor spreading http://t.co/aTxlwNPoYx

— Swami Brahmachitt (@SwamiBramhachit) September 10, 2013

Way to go China, once again...Hmph. http://t.co/rqJr2YuduV

— Joni Koro (@JoniKoro) September 10, 2013

JUST LIKE AMERICA!!-IT'S SOMEHOW ILLEGAL TO TELL THE TRUTH,OR TO CRITICIZE SOMEONE/SOMETHING!!!! http://t.co/TU5fxEKIBm

— ska_chick101 (@ska_chick101) September 10, 2013

These activities will lead to libel, provocation and blackmail charges:

• Spreading defamatory information online that is viewed more than 5,000 times or forwarded more than 500 times
• Spreading fake information that results in a mental illness or the self-harming or suicide of victims or their family members
• Re-offense within two years
• Threatening others by using false online information that results in serious public disorder
• Organising others to spread fake information that results in serious public disorder
• Threatening others with the purpose of obtaining large amounts of money or property through posting or deleting online information, or repeated offenses