China steps up censorship, shutting down hundreds of thousands of private websites

The enactment of a new internet control law in China has led to the closure of hundreds of thousands of private websites. Chinese human rights activists, including the Website Owners' Rights Defense League, have begun collecting signatures in protest against this government overreach.

A letter of protest against new internet regulations has been published on the website. The site's administration believes that one of the most dangerous regulations for the online industry is the requirement that only entrepreneurs, organizations, or institutions register websites; it is now impossible for individuals to register their own domains in China.

In addition, new Internet regulations require verification for owners of websites hosted on foreign hosting servers.

The country's authorities began preparing internet providers for such actions back in December. Currently, the country is conducting very rigorous checks of absolutely all websites. The authorities explain their actions as a desire to deal a "decisive blow" to the spread of false information and pornography.