From Reuters:
China has issued new Internet regulations, including what appears to be an effort to create a “whitelist” of approved websites that could potentially place much of the Internet off-limits to Chinese readers.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology ordered domain management institutions and internet service providers to tighten control over domain name registration, in a three-phase plan laid out on its website (www.miit.gov.cn) late on Sunday.
“Domain names that have not registered will not be resolved or transferred,” MIIT said, in an action plan to “further deepen” an ongoing anti-pornography campaign that has resulted in significant tightening of Chinese Internet controls.
2009 has marked a time of media tightening. Read also about the fate of the TV show ‘Snail House’ on CDT.
Update: See Danwei’s translation of MIIT’s five measures, “MIIT considers a white-list of approved websites.” The Wall Street Journal’s Real Time China Blog, however, notes that there may be no such white-list under consideration:
However, there’s nothing in the MIIT document that actually discusses such a white-list system. The line that has drawn attention is the third clause in item No. 6 of the Phase II section of the document, which says “Domain names of Web sites that haven’t yet been registered won’t be resolved.” But there’s no indication that this applies to foreign Web sites. Rather, the clause appears to be part of the broader tightening of the vetting process for Chinese domain names—an initiative that first surfaced last week.
Applicants for Chinese “.cn” domain names have always had to register. Last week’s rules basically said that applications will be more closely scrutinized and applicants must prove they are affiliated with a company or other officially registered organization – making it much more difficult for individuals to set up “.cn” sites.
Shen Yang, chief editor of the book “The Economics of China’s Domain Names”, who has discussed the new document in meetings with MIIT officials, says media reports about a white list and registration of overseas Web sites are inaccurate. “It’s totally a rumor,” he says.
Some analysts had speculated last week that the tighter vetting of “.cn” domain applications would simply drive more Chinese Web site proprietors to register their sites overseas. And indeed, one Chinese newspaper reported Tuesday that Chinese registrations of “.com” addresses have spiked since last week. It may have been anticipation of government efforts to close that loophole that fueled the speculation about a white list.
