Chinese authorities introduced a new rule for social media users on Monday, warning of possible charges and jail time for posting and/or reposting comments that they consider libelous, CBS reported.
The rule will apply to anyone that posts libelous comments that are reposted 500 or more times in addition to posts that are viewed more than 5,000 times.
The new law by the government came on Monday as authorities begin a campaign to stomp out what they call "online rumors." The country's media has accused some microbloggers of promoting Western ideals through lies and negative outlooks and therefore undermining the rule of China's Communist Party.
The Internet and social media websites have allowed China's residents to be more vocal than ever despite the tight restrictions the government places on speech. Many notable Chinese people, including artists and scholars, have used their accounts to discuss certain social issues. However, after new leadership took place in March, the government began regulating online speech.
Famous microbloggers were asked to attend a meeting in Beijing in August where they were asked to follow seven rules -- obey the law, uphold the socialist system, guard the national interest, protect individual rights, keep social order, respect morals, and ensure factuality.
Several Internet users have already been detained by police for spreading "online rumors." In one instance, a Chinese journalist was jailed after saying a senior official was neglecting his job. Another man was detained after he compared revolutionary martyrs to bullies. Additionally, a blogger who posted the incorrect number of fatalies from a car accident was taken into custody.
People charged with online rumors will face different charges depending on the subject of their post. "Serious cases" are defined posts that have negative social or financial effects.
Xie Youping, a law professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, condemned the new law and the impact it will have on China's justice system.
"The criminal code should be a hanging sword that should not fall easily. Now it can fall at any time," Xie said. "This sets the standards for criminal prosecution at the lowest since the new China was founded (in 1949)."
