Replacing a number of smaller government units, the State Internet Information Office will oversee online content management, which includes enforcing China’s extensive censorship rules. It will also control internet access as well as domain name and IP address distribution.
The move aims to centralise control over the content made available to domestic Chinese internet users, but is being widely viewed as evidence that censorship will be further tightened in the country as the government attempts to crack down on dissent following the political unrest in the Middle East.
