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Social media users in China face tighter controls after the introduction of new rules aimed at preventing the spread of online rumours on Sina Weibo, the country's version of Twitter.

The service, which has 300 million members, has become a platform for Chinese citizens to criticise the government in ways that have never been possible before. But yesterday, the website introduced "user contracts" to curb controversial posts, with the rules thought to have come about amid pressure from Chinese authorities. The norms will strengthen the so-called Great Firewall of China the country's system of internet controls.

Under the system, Sina Weibo users start off with 80 points, which are then deducted when they break the rules by "spreading rumours", encouraging gambling, "insulting the nation" or "calling for illegal protests", according to a posting on the website. If the balance of points falls to zero, users face the cancellation of their accounts.

The new regulations are believed to be the latest attempt by the authorities to contain the impact of the service. Even though micro-blogging in China started less than three years go, it has become enormously popular, with growth quadrupling last year. Nearly half of all Chinese internet users now use micro-blogs.

The government has previously forced Weibo's legions of micro-bloggers to use their own names, not nicknames or avatars. But the rumours and speculation sparked after the removal of the former Chongqing Communist Party boss, Bo Xilai, and the naming of his wife, Gu Kailai, as a suspect in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood appears to have spurred additional action.

The new controls were introduced as the capital was gripped by rumours about the next stage in the purge of Bo Xilai and the progress of the power struggle within the Party's upper echelons. Authorities shut 16 websites and detained six people for "fabricating or disseminating online rumours" about military vehicles entering Beijing, while Weibo and other sites such as Tencent's QQ, were "criticised and punished accordingly", and their comments sections closed.

But despite attempting to exert control, the authorities have been often hamstrung by the ability of micro-bloggers to find ways around the restrictions they impose. For example, as soon as the words "Bo Xilai" are banned, online users start tweeting "BXL". The new rules are aimed at closing these loopholes.

Officially, the measures have been introduced by Weibo. But it is generally thought that Sina, the technology giant that owns Weibo, is trying to show its good corporate credentials to the Chinese government by helping with self-censorship and avoiding possible censure in the future.

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State pressure blamed for new censorship on China's Twitter

The Indian arm of Anonymous is planning what it describes as non-violent protests against Internet censorship in various Indian cities, after some Internet service providers blocked file-sharing sites in the country.

The protests, planned for June 9, follow a court order in March directed at ISPs, meant to prevent a newly released local movie from being offered in a pirated version online. Some ISPs went ahead and blocked some file-sharing sites altogether, rather than the offending URLs.

One such ISP, Reliance Communications, found its service was tinkered with last week, redirecting its users from sites like Facebook and Twitter to a protest page, according to reports from users. The hackers also claimed to have attacked the website and servers of Reliance, and claimed to have got access to a large list of URLs blocked by the company.

Reliance Communications said on Monday it had thoroughly investigated the matter and all its servers and websites are intact. "We have required preventive measures and strongest possible IT security layers in place to tackle any unwarranted intrusions," the company said in a statement. "Despite repeated attempts by hackers, our servers could not be hacked."

The hackers also claimed to have attacked websites of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition party in the country, after having previously launched DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks on various websites including that of the Indian central bank, Reserve Bank of India.

Anonymous was active in India last year, when it attacked the website of the Indian army. It quickly reversed its decision to attack the site and kept a low profile after drawing protests from some of its own members.

Anonymous is asking supporters to download and print cut-outs of the Guy Fawkes mask, used by the hacker group as a logo, to be worn during the anti-censorship street protests.

The group's protests are also directed at India's Information Technology Act, which among other things allows the government to block websites under certain conditions, and also allows the removal of online content by notice to ISPs. The government is in the process of framing rules that will put curbs on freedom on social media, Anonymous said in a recent video, presumably a reference to demands by the government that Internet companies should have a mechanism in place to filter objectionable content, including content that mocks religious figures.

India's Computer Emergency Response Team observed last week that hacker groups are launching DDoS attacks on government and private websites. These attacks may be targeted at different websites of reputed organizations, the agency said in an advisory. The attacks are being launched using popular DDoS tools and can consume bandwidth requiring appropriate proactive action in coordination with service providers, it added.

John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro. John's e-mail address is john_ribeiro@idg.com

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Anonymous India Calls for Non-violent Protests Against Censorship

28-05-2012 16:25 Journalist control politician control jouranlist control politican control .... Dub Soundtrack

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MediaWhiteWash.wmv - Video

* Former PM say media so powerful he could not confront it

* Blair says offending media was dangerous for politicians

* Blair heckled over Iraq war at Leveson inquiry (Recasts with Murdoch, adds heckler)

LONDON, May 28 (Reuters) - British leaders are forced to court powerful press barons such as Rupert Murdoch or risk savage media attacks which render them unable to govern effectively, former Prime Minister Tony Blair told an inquiry on Monday.

Interrupted by a heckler who accused him of being a war criminal for supporting the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Blair paused briefly before continuing to justify his ties to Murdoch with whom he said he developed a close friendship.

Blair cast himself as a politician facing the choice between being torn apart by what he once described as the media's "feral beasts" and getting his policies implemented.

But Blair, whose reputation for obsessive media management brought him so close to Murdoch that the tycoon could joke about flirting, said he became increasingly concerned about the unhealthy relationship between the media and politicians.

"With any of these big media groups, you fall out with them and you watch out, because it is literally relentless and unremitting once that happens," Blair, looking tanned and smart in a navy suit and white shirt, told the Leveson inquiry.

"My view is that that is what creates this situation in which these media people get a power in the system that is unhealthy and which I felt, throughout my time, uncomfortable with. I took the strategic decision to manage this and not confront it but the power of it is indisputable."

Blair is the most senior politician to date to appear before Leveson, an inquiry that has tarnished the British elite by showing the collusion between senior politicians, media tycoons and police.

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UPDATE 2-Blair says feared fight with Britain's media barons

Government plans for a press council are actually plans to restrict press freedom

Malaysian government plans for a media council to enforce by law journalists compliance with a code of ethics are expected to move ahead with a second round of discussions between editors and journalists and the Attorney-General and his team.

The governments moves are described as part of reforms in the name of press freedom, following on from the prime ministers announcement in September to end annual newspaper licenses. In April, amendments to the Printing Press and Publications Act replaced annual licenses with one-off licences good until cancelled, and slightly curbed the home ministers powers over the press, opening his decisions to challenge in court.

However, these reforms do not move Malaysia forward towards greater press freedom but merely return to the regime of control that existed before 1988, and before Operation Lallang, when the Mahathir government locked up dissidents and critics and closed The Star, Watan and Sin Chew Jit Poh. They were allowed to re-open six months later, under stringent conditions.)

The April amendments to the press and publication act merely restored the status quo ante. The difference is that editors agreed to submit to self-regulation in return for withdrawal of annual publishing licenses and the government has expanded the scope of self-regulation to include broadcasters and online media.

A new regime of media control is thus taking shape and journalists are being co-opted into this process by being part of the governments consultations. Todays discussions will probably be about the mechanisms of the new regime: how to control, who to control, and how to punish.

Although the government views this favorably as self-regulation, control of the media lies at the heart of the governments as yet unseen proposals by which editors and journalists will be drawn into the process.

It is common knowledge that:

*Newspaper editors in September agreed to set up a press council based on the voluntary UK Press Complaints Council (now disbanded);

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Opinion: Malaysian Press Council an Ominous Move