HONG KONG — In its latest effort to place restrictions on Internet usage, China is tightening regulation of online bulletin boards, Beijing's top telecommunications official said Tuesday.
Wu Jichuan, head of the Ministry of Information Industry, said the Chinese government was working on a "better way" to manage the Internet.
"Don't misinterpret this. The Chinese government absolutely is not saying people can't use these things, but we must find a more healthy way to manage them to ensure the protection of individuals' reputation and privacy," Wu told reporters on the sidelines of the International Telecommunications Union's conference.
"Anyone who has used the Web knows already that people always use false names," Wu said. "If someone attacks someone else there is no way to catch them, no way to sue them."
China has consistently sought to strengthen regulation of the Internet. Last month, the country added restrictions on Web sites offering news reports and required chat rooms to use only officially approved topics.
Chinese leaders have been ambivalent about the Internet since its first explosive growth in China in the mid-1990s. They want to harness it for business and education while preventing it from becoming a tool of political discontent.
"It's an ongoing battle for them with any media. One of the great fears of the unofficial media is the spreading of rumors and the inability to control bad news," said Steven Schwankert, Asian editor for internet.com.
The difficulty over managing bulletin boards is one of many dilemmas China faces in its effort to police the Internet, which the communist leadership has accepted as a necessary but awkward tool for modernizing the economy.
China will be obliged to relax some controls, such as a ban on foreign investment in telecoms businesses, when it joins the World Trade Organization.
AT&T Corp. announced a new Internet venture on Tuesday, making it the first foreign company allowed to provide telecommunications services in China. The $25 million venture with two state-owned Chinese partners will provide broadband Internet service to Shanghai's new Pudong business district.
Wu said China would produce clear regulations on foreign investment in the telecoms business by the time Beijing formally joins the WTO after seeking membership in the Geneva-based body for 14 years.