The Chinese government last week began closing down websites whose owners had not registered their personal information with the Ministry of Information Industry (MII), government officials said.
“Unregistered websites were shut down as a warning. The government is not punishing anyone,” Hu Yonglong, the Vice Director of the Shanghai Communications Administration (SCA), told Interfax Monday. The SCA is the local branch of the MII in Shanghai.
The closing of websites were carried out by local branches of the MII, which in March were ordered to compile databases of personal information for all individuals and companies that had registered internet domain names in China. New regulations issued in March require all individuals who own domain names to register their legal names, citizen identification card numbers, telephone numbers, employers, and the location of the server on which their websites are hosted. The MII said in March that these new directories would help authorities shut down websites with pornographic, gambling, and other illegal content.