China:
Ministry makes new push to control online music
The Chinese ministry of culture implements new censorship rules for the country’s online music providers by 1 January 2010. This is necessary to ensure that lyrics are "acceptable" and to protect "intellectual property rights", stated the ministry
It was announced on the website of the ministry of culture on 3 September 2009 that Chinese online music distributors such as Yahoo China, Baidu and Google (which has just launched a downloading service) will have to submit all imported music to the ministry for vetting.
In a statement sent to AFP, the culture ministry said the rules were necessary “to regulate the transmission of cultural information, guarantee the safety of the nation's culture, and regulate public ethics.”
The official Global Times stated that music providers would have to submit songs for approval by 31 December 2009, at which date the new rules go into effect. They would also have to translate the lyrics of foreign songs into Chinese.
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