China Requires Approval for Foreign Firms to Publish Online

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A new Chinese regulation announced this week will require foreign companies and foreign-Chinese joint ventures to acquire approval before publishing content online, in the government’s latest move to tighten control of the digital realm.

In an apparent countervailing trend born of the need to shore up slowing growth and flagging foreign investment, the government on Friday also announced plans to make it easier for foreigners to live and work in the country under new rules for obtaining permanent residency. 

Under the new regulations going into effect March 10, firms with at least part-foreign ownership will be banned from publishing on the mainland text, pictures, maps, games, animation and sound “of informational or thoughtful nature” without approval from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

Chinese law has long required Internet service providers to hold an operating license that can only be obtained in partnership with a Chinese firm, and the new regulations do not represent a wholesale revision of existing rules or practices, experts say.