China create more restrictions on the internet

China has created more restrictions on internet use by adding more security measures for those wishing to create new websites. According to reports, to create a new website (and hence the .cn domain address) an individual most meet with a regulator and provide official identification and photographs of themselves prior to being granted a new website.

This comes amidst US pressure to lighten already stiff censorship in China, while Google have considered pulling out due to the so-called “Great Firewall of China”. However, it is unlikely that Beijing will buckle to American pressure, as they feel they are protecting their citizens from dangerous content, such as pornography and violence. However, Reports Without Borders, a media watchdog group, claims that the new regulations are designed to scare Chinese internet users offline. In their official statement, they wrote, “These new regulations represent a very disturbing step backwards for the Chinese Internet. The pretext of combating pornography does not hold. The aim is to tighten political control and get Internet users to censor themselves by bringing them face-to-face with their censors or their agents. What netizen will dare to criticise the regime after meeting the person who could put them behind bars for one wrong word?”

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology passed the new guidelines on February 8, although it is unclear if the measures are enforced today.

China has the world’s largest number of internet users, totalling over 384 million.