Internet firms 'need courts' to help ensure fair competition

Fair competition is the key to Internet companies improving services, and the judicial and administrative bodies have an important role to play in ensuring a level playing field, a leading web entrepreneur said.

If two Internet companies are in conflict over a certain issue, the courts are the best place to decide the outcome, said Zhang Chaoyang, better known as Charles Zhang, the founder and chairman of Sohu, one of China's biggest Internet portal owners and video site operators.

"A fair verdict will push them to develop and set an example for the industry", he said.