China is strengthening its ability to censor the Internet through drafting new rules requiring businesses that serve domestic Internet users to register their Web addresses inside the country.
In its most draconian interpretation, the proposed requirements further limit access within the Chinese network, which appears to be the latest step by the ruling Communist Party to erect cyber barriers in the name of what some officials call "Internet sovereignty," analysts said.
"This expands control over domestic Internet operators and contributes to the gradual buildup of the capability underpinning Internet sovereignty," said Rogier Creemers, an expert on Chinese media policy at the University of Oxford.
Under the draft regulations released this week by the Ministry of industry and Information Technology, any firm that provides services to Chinese users must register its domain, or web address, with a Chinese provider. The rules are found in Article 37 of the ministry's proposed update to a set of decade-old Internet laws.
Analysts said the main targets of this rule appears to be Chinese Internet companies that store their content domestically but keep their Web address registered overseas with reputable, international firms for security purposes.
IT consultant based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, Lon Weilian, who has blogged extensively on the issue, said these companies are required to shift their registration to a domestic provider under Chinese government control that would allow censors to react more quickly in blocking access to certain sites.
"Before, they had to contact the server, get the address, talk to the manager and then ask them to censor something," Long said. "If the domains are all domestic, they can directly stop traffic going to your domain with a command."
Vice President for China operations with the U.S.-China Business Council, Jacob Parker, said his group was concerned that the rules would block the free flow of information.
"Any kind of restrictions would undermine China's broader economic development goals," Parker said.
There are still questions about the new rules' true purpose and the severity of its enforcement. The ministry is currently soliciting feedback on the proposed registration regulations, and Chinese laws are often softened during the revision process.
Director of a top Chinese technology think tank, Fang Xingdong believes that Chinese leaders are seeking to enhance their control, but not to wall China off from the rest of the world.
"Under the current wording, all this is doing is integrating large Chinese Web service providers under a more rigorous supervision framework, while most small businesses won't be affected," said Fang, whose organization regularly submits opinions to the government on Internet issues.
Fang added that any attempt to seal the China's access to the internet would hurt the country as much as the United States.
