China requires approval for foreign firms to publish online

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.

The explosive rise of new media, ranging from social media messaging services to streaming TV shows, for instance, has prompted Chinese censors to introduce a slate of new regulations so it could police digital and social media as closely as it did traditional publications.

"China is still focused more on maintaining the social stability and national security interests when it comes to making policies on the Internet industry, while caring less about the commercial and individual interests," said Zhang Zhian, the director of the school of communication and design at Sun Yat-sen University.