The Beijing municipal government is to experiment with a new model of internet control that will see a team of 10,000 'freelance' censors monitor 'unhealthy' Web content and name registration.
Deputy Mayor Cai Fuchao, also head of the municipal propaganda department, said the capital would implement a series of internet monitoring measures in an effort 'to purify the internet environment', the Beijing News reported yesterday.
Mr Cai was quoted as saying the city would set up a database of the existing 370,000 Beijing-registered websites. Real name registration of website owners, editors and administrators would also be implemented.
According to the Beijing Internet Administration Office, the team of at least 10,000 would be in place by the end of the year.
It is not known whether the freelance censors will be paid, but industry insiders suggested they may receive benefits or incentives from their employers or organisations - for example, extra credit in their annual performance assessment.
They will be registered with the semi-official Beijing Association of Online Media, which will co-ordinate their work. When they spot offending content they will report it to police, and censorship authorities can delete it immediately.
Min Dahong, the head of the association, said this approach had in fact been around for a while and 'has played an effective role in cracking down on unhealthy material spreading on the internet'.
