Chinese authorities announced that the broadcasting of Internet videos will be limited to sites ran by the government, so as to avoid any content promoting pornography, violence, revealing national secrets or promoting religious cults.

The new regulations will take effect starting January 31, when the only sites with broadcasting license will be government-run entities. The internet audio and video providers “must be resolute in the service of the socialist ideal and of the people. “

The censorship will affect over 160 million internet users across China, and not only that, but foreign sites will also be forced to comply with the new regulations, and among them are YouTube, MySpace or Yahoo.

Ben Edelman, professor at Harvard Business School and internet filtering researcher, said in a Forbes.com interview that the announcement has one main purpose, and that is to scare sites into cooperating and censorship, as it will be virtually impossible to stop all sites from video broadcasting.

The main reason the China State Administration of Radio, Film and Television made the announcement on December 29 was to avoid the ongoing spread of offensive materials, pornography, political messages or racial-social ones, and at some point, protect the Chinese internet users.

MySpace China was the first to start practicing a certain degree of censorship. Its policy states that members are not allowed to discuss content that reveal state secrets or undermine the government, as well as discussions that could disturb social order.

However, MySpace China does not host any videos, unlike Google’s YouTube, which will have a hard time complying with the government’s regulations. The YouTube policy states that they comply to local regulations wherever they have local sites.

While some see it as a necessary measure for the Chinese Internet viewers, foreign analyst consider it to restrain freedom of speech and to give a hard time to foreign companies, which may lead to a certain degree of economic instability, as no one knows exactly what to expect and how will they be able to comply.

“China’s new regulations for online video could be a cause for concern, depending on the interpretation,” says a YouTube statement. “Like other companies, we are studying the new rules.”