State Secrets Law tightens grip on China social media giants

New rules that tighten Chinese government restrictions on the country’s internet companies have come into effect today, raising concerns about how they will be applied.

The expanded State Secrets Law compels firms - including social media giants Tencent, ByteDance and Weibo - to take action if users post sensitive information.

It requires “network operators” to monitor information being shared by users. The rules also describe how posts should be removed, records saved and reported to authorities.

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The revised rules also broaden the definition of what may be deemed as sensitive information to include “work secrets”, or information about the decision-making of state agencies, which could be particularly problematic for journalists, including foreign correspondents.

“A main concern for us is the uncertainty as to what really constitutes a ‘state secret’,” Jens Eskelund, President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China told the BBC.