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After years of working in the shadows, China’s Internet police are stepping into the light.
On Monday, Chinese police officially unveiled an Internet inspection force that it said has long operated in the wings.
Internet police units at 50 locations ranging from megacities such as Beijing and Shanghai to “small impoverished cities” in southwest China’s Guizhou province this week officially launched social networking accounts to publicize their work and get their message across, according to the official Xinhua news service. These include the use of such popular online sites as Sina Corp’s Weibo and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat, it added.
“Internet police are coming out to the front stage from behind the curtains,” said a statement on the Ministry of Public Security website.
Among the objectives of these cyber police teams include detecting “illegal and harmful information,” preventing improper words and deeds online, publishing case reports, guarding against cyber criminals and handling public tips, according to the ministry statement. Cyber police have already deleted some 758,000 pieces of “criminal information” and handled over 70,000 cybercrime cases this year, it added.
The move came on the same day that Chinese authorities announced the kick-off of the country’s second annual Cyber Security Week.
“Cyber security isn’t just about national security and national development, but also concerns the immediate interests of every Internet user,” Xinhua quoted China’s top Internet regulator Lu Wei as saying.
On Monday, Chinese police officially unveiled an Internet inspection force that it said has long operated in the wings.
Internet police units at 50 locations ranging from megacities such as Beijing and Shanghai to “small impoverished cities” in southwest China’s Guizhou province this week officially launched social networking accounts to publicize their work and get their message across, according to the official Xinhua news service. These include the use of such popular online sites as Sina Corp’s Weibo and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat, it added.
“Internet police are coming out to the front stage from behind the curtains,” said a statement on the Ministry of Public Security website.
Among the objectives of these cyber police teams include detecting “illegal and harmful information,” preventing improper words and deeds online, publishing case reports, guarding against cyber criminals and handling public tips, according to the ministry statement. Cyber police have already deleted some 758,000 pieces of “criminal information” and handled over 70,000 cybercrime cases this year, it added.
The move came on the same day that Chinese authorities announced the kick-off of the country’s second annual Cyber Security Week.
“Cyber security isn’t just about national security and national development, but also concerns the immediate interests of every Internet user,” Xinhua quoted China’s top Internet regulator Lu Wei as saying.
