Chinese Online Video Sites Shut Down or Punished
You won’t be surprised: “The announcement came as Chinese Web surfers were blocked from seeing foreign sites with video about protests in Tibet. The new order did not mention the anti-government demonstrations or China’s resulting crackdown. … In the recent sweep, regulators ordered 25 Web sites to shut down and will punish 32 others following a two-month investigation.”
Basically, it means that very popular video sites in China like Tudou.com, which is hard not to bump into if you are looking for any online videos, will be penalized, while some other Chinese video sites, like rival 56.com or Youku.com will get the green light - who knows how long. Although there is no information on what violation Tudou and the like committed, based on my experience, every imaginable abuse a video site can do e.g. with fresh and recent blockbusters, like No country for Old Men, or 300 back a few months ago. But potential violations include ‘threat to national security’ and soft/ hard pornography too. But Tudou was warned before the penalty came, said Tudou.com vice president, Dan Brody.
Some light at the end of the tunnel: “The government announced in December that all video-sharing sites had to be state-owned. But it backed off following warnings that would stifle the industry and said any properly licensed company already operating could continue.”
More about the video ban on NYT via AP.