HONG KONG - Under a decision made Thursday in China, the broadcasting of Internet videos, including those posted on video-sharing websites, will be restricted to sites run by state-controlled companies beginning Jan. 31.
Since permits to broadcast video online will be limited to state-owned or state-controlled companies, sites such as YouTube probably will suffer blackouts in China.
The decision - approved by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and the Ministry of Information Industry - was accompanied by a policy that will ban providers from promoting pornography and require them to report questionable content to the government.
Providers also are banned from broadcasting video that involves national secrets or is deemed to hurt China's reputation or disrupt social stability. The policy requires providers to delete and report such content.
"Those who provide Internet video services should insist on serving the people, serve socialism ... and abide by the moral code of socialism," the rules say.
The permits are subject to renewal every three years, and operators who commit "major" violations may be banned from providing online video programming for five years.
China has released no information on the regulations' effects on sites like YouTube and independently run Chinese Internet video providers. The majority of Internet video providers in China are private, according to ChinaFilm.com, which is run by the state-controlled China Film Group
