By Philip Wen
Spreading rumours online can now result in a three-year jail sentence in China, in a new nationwide ruling aimed at stifling the increasingly free-flowing tone of debate on the internet.
The new judicial interpretation formally extends laws against defamation and creating social instability to the internet for the first time, reflecting the soaring influence blogs and social media has had on Chinese society.
''In recent years, the internet has been used to maliciously fabricate facts and damage the reputation of others … and to concoct rumours that mislead the people, causing serious disruptions of social order and even mass incidents,'' a Supreme Court spokesman, Sun Jungong, said.
A post deemed defamatory that is forwarded more than 500 times, or viewed more than 5000 times, could land the author in jail for up to three years. A maximum sentence of 10 years awaits those charged with ''organising others to spread fake information that results in serious public disorder''.
Chinese censors routinely remove internet content they deem inappropriate or politically sensitive but political debate has flourished online, particularly since the downfall of former Chongqing party secretary Bo Xilai.
The announcement coincides with a rolling campaign from the Chinese government to rein in online commentary after President Xi Jinping's call to ''seize the ground of new media''.