Internet watchdogs hold conference in Beijing
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More than 50 people and 14 organizations were honored for their work in Internet discipline at a conference on Internet self-discipline in Beijing on Tuesday.
The conference, hosted by Beijing Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center (BIIIRC), gathered 270 workers and volunteers from leading online media companies, including Sina, Sohu, 163, VODone and ifeng. Government officials from the Public Opinion Bureau of the Publicity Department of the Central committee of the CPC, the State Council Information Office and the Beijing Internet Administration Office were also there to present the awards.
The conference highlighted the achievements of Beijing's self-disciplining, in which organizations like the BIIIRC and media groups monitor online content – from news stories to blog posts and forums to reader comments – for illegal or "unhealthy" information that would disrupt efforts to achieve a harmonious online environment. Individual volunteers, who now number more than 3,100, and so-called "mama judges" also scour the Internet and report cases to the Beijing Association of Online Media.
Niu Yanqi, a manager of an advertising company, became a volunteer in 2006 and has reported 4,931 cases. "We need more warm-hearted people to join us to purify our online space," he said.
The mama judges, a group of mothers with teenagers, were created by the BAOM for especially worried parents.
"I was worried about unhealthy information on the Internet," said one mama judge, Feng Yun, who has a 14-year-old child. "But now I'm grateful to companies such as Sohu for their hard work in protecting teens."
The conference called for Internet companies and institutions in Beijing to encourage healthy online expression, civil interaction and rational comments. Netizens should be aware of protecting the online environment and boycotting vulgar contents.
