China's efforts to regulate cyberspace have again been interpreted as restriction of freedom of speech. Such views stem from a misunderstanding based on long-term prejudice.

On Feb 4, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued a regulation banning the use of Internet avatars and account handles that have malicious contents. The ban applies to chat rooms, blogs, instant messaging and other Internet services. The regulation says avatars and account handles should not include information that violates the Constitution or China's laws, subverts State power, undermines national security and sovereignty, or is aimed at spreading rumors. The regulation was issued after a series of cases came to light in which fake accounts under the names of celebrities and foreign leaders, as well as official media outlets and institutions were used to spread false information.

But despite its good intentions, the regulation has been described by some foreign media as further proof of China tightening control over Internet use and censoring news and views challenging the communist political system. This is not the first time that a move to regulate the use of the Internet has been misinterpreted by the foreign media. Last month too some foreign media outlets had a field day when the CAC shut down 133 accounts on popular instant messaging app WeChat for posting illegal contents that "disobeyed socialist core values" and "severely disturbed the online order".

The truth is that those accounts had had a negative impact on society. One of the accounts that was closed was run by an imposter posing as "Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's inspection groups", while another used misleading Chinese characters to sound like People's Daily, the leading newspaper of the country. The two account holders had been deceiving the public with wrong information. Other accounts were related to terrorism, violence and pornography. How can any country grant such account holders the freedom of speech?

The virtual world is not outer space, and thus not beyond the realm of the law. China has always protected freedom of speech, including on the Internet, but with the precondition that individuals abide by the laws and regulations.

Internet contents are censored not only in China, but also in other countries, including the United States. Although the First Amendment strictly protects the freedom of speech, the US has enacted laws to make exceptions to granting that freedom. In 1998, the US enacted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to better protect copyright on the Internet and in December 2000, it signed the Children's Internet Protection Act into law to restrict minors' access to harmful and inappropriate online material. It has also blacklisted some websites under the Trading with the Enemy Act 1917.

The bias against China's Internet regulation can be attributed to the political system it follows which is different from other countries'. But there is no difference between China and the rest of the world when it comes to free mobility of information provided it protects the legitimate rights of the public and individuals.

Xinhua News Agency

(China Daily 02/07/2015 page5)