The Chinese government has announced new regulations which will give Communist authorities greater control over online content.
The regulations, to come into effect on June 1, were announced by Cyberspace Administration of China, an authoritative body that will take over the regulation of online news services, a task currently handled by State Council Information Office.
The new regulations require all news websites in China to be overseen by editor-in-chief and content to be approved by authorities at both national and local levels, who are licensed by the central government, according to the document.
The news services should also ensure they are in line with the Chinese Communist Party and comply with certain emergency measures imposed during crisis such as natural disasters or sensitive events.
The new rules will apply to coverage of politics, economics, military and diplomacy in articles published on blogs, websites, forums, search engines, social media sites and other online news platforms.
The objective of the regulations is to "promote healthy Internet culture and safeguard national and public interest," Xinhua said.
China has 700 million internet users, the world's highest, but the country also has some of the strictest internet censorship as it has been blocking access to websites like Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for many years.
