China Bans Original News Reporting

The Chinese internet regulator has ordered news companies to stop reporting original news. In the latest effort by the government to limit the information and web industries, The Cyberspace Administration Of China has targeted companies like Sina Corp and Tencent Holdings. The news outlets will now have to report identically-worded articles apparently provided by an unnamed source in the agencies' Beijing offices. The Chinese newspaper, The Paper On Sunday, said that companies like Sohu and NetEase had “seriously violated” regulations by carrying original content, and that they had caused “huge negative effects”. The ban now gives authorities in the country near-complete control over news distributed over the web, and lets them control published political opinion. This is just the latest in a string of strict regulations, after new rules aimed at reducing mobile app freedom were introduced earlier this month. President Xi has said in the past that it is important for the Chinese media to follow the interests of the country and its ruling party. 

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