Chinese Microblog Use Fell 9% In 2013, Government Says

The number of Chinese using Twitter-like microblogs fell 9% in 2013 from 2012, according to a new government report, which comes amid a recent crackdown by the government on the platforms and also reflects growing competition from popular mobile-messaging applications.

According to a report released by the government-established China Internet Network Information Center, total users of microblogs in China fell to 280.8 million in 2013 from 308.6 million in 2012, a trend which the center attributed to growing competition from social networks and messaging applications on smartphones. The government has renewed a campaign to crack down on microblogs, which act like a virtual town square for many in China to voice their opinions about a range of issues from official corruption and environmental degradation to sports and pop stars. Beijing has long sought greater control over information distributed by microblogs, known as weibo in Chinese, and mandates that companies operating the sites closely monitor and censor content. Though the report doesn't bring up the campaign -- which has led to the warning and arrest of high-profile commentators and the expansion of criminal laws that make it easier to prosecute people for their online activity -- many analysts have warned the crackdown would damp the use of microblogs