No borders for Chinese media censorship. YouTube and online video restrictions

The Chinese government has revised restrictions banning "harmful" internet videos after it blocked access to YouTube which contained a video showing police beating Tibetan independence protesters, reports the Register.

The unpleasant event of Tibetan protesters being shackled and beaten by police happened near Lhasa last March. However, Chinese authorities claimed the video was fake and they weren’t responsible for shutting off YouTube.

China's State Administration of Radio, Film and TV posted the revised restrictions that ban online videos that "oppose the basic principles of the Chinese constitution; jeopardize China's unity, sovereignty or territorial integrity, divulge state secrets; and endanger national security or harm national honor and interest." Moreover, online videos that "advocate evil cults and superstitions," or "explicitly display sexual perversions, extreme violence or the slaughtering of animals," have also been blocked.

It should also be noted that no movie or television show can be posted or downloaded without the approval to be shown in the country. The maximum amount of foreign films that can get this approval is 20 a year, and usually they have to go through heavy editing. Moreover, Chinese government has recently launched a nationwide crackdown on "lewd" and "obscene" internet content involving blockage of over 1,900 websites and arrest of at least 41 people.