A man uses his phone to visit the Sina Weibo microblogging site in Shanghai, in this file picture taken May 29, 2012. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Files
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's crackdown on online "rumour-mongering", widely seen as a tool to halt criticism of the ruling Communist Party, has chilled political discourse, with high-profile bloggers saying they have reined in sensitive posts for fear of detention.
Lawyers and activists called the crackdown a significant, if crude, expansion of powers to police the Internet and a blow to those who rely on microblogs to disseminate information that is often not monitored as strictly as traditional media.
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