Start a rumor online in the U.S. and you’ll likely have hoards of other online users spread it far and wide as news outlets feature your Twitter (News - Alert) stream, only to find out that any and all information is actually false. In China, the same action will land you in the slammer, as the country is notorious for trying to take control of the Internet and its usage.

According to a story issued by AFP, any person caught spreading rumors online will be detained.

Three people, including a website editor, have been punished for spreading rumors online, according to a statement issued by the State Internet Information Office on Tuesday.

A university student in southwest China's Yunnan Province was detained for posting a fake news item about a sick man who killed eight village heads in Yunnan, it said.

China has repeatedly vowed to clamp down on Internet “rumors,” often used as code for criticism of the government, after a fatal high-speed rail crash in July sparked a furious public response on social media sites.

For a few days even state media followed that critical lead, until instructions were issued to desist.

The State Internet Information Office has taken over responsibility from a number of lower-ranking directorates as far as controlling the Internet goes. The new set-up will enable the government to keep a tighter grip on the content available to Chinese Internet-users inside the country.

Beijing in particular operates vast Internet censorship, dubbed the “great firewall of China”. Websites deemed sensitive by the government are routinely blocked.

China’s weibos, a site similar to Twitter, is banned by communist authorities.

“Authorities will step up efforts to stop rumors and punish individuals and websites spreading rumors,” a statement said, AFP reports.

 “Authorities will step up efforts to stop rumors and punish individuals and websites spreading rumors,” the statement said.

This is not the first news of this ilk as of late. In fact, the United States has issued a formal request asking China to hand over details of how and why it censors websites when it comes to trade.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk voiced concern over how foreign websites were censored in China, potentially giving domestic Chinese sites an unfair competitive advantage. The World Trade Organization has rules that stipulate goods and services of other WTO members must be treated as favorably as similar goods and services produced domestically.