China Tightens Internet Controls
China Tightens Internet Controls
China has tightened controls on internet use, requiring anyone who wants to set up a website to meet regulators and produce ID documents. The technology ministry said the measures were designed to tackle online pornography, but internet activists see it as increased government censorship. A number of websites are now being registered overseas in an attempt to avoid controls.
China has the world’s biggest online population, more than 380m users. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Tuesday lifted a freeze introduced in December on registration for new individual websites.
According to the BBC China correspondent, China’s web users often manage to stay one step ahead of government controls. The Chinese authorities have launched a number of campaigns against online pornography, with the government saying thousands of people were detained last year alone.