China bans individual internet domain names

Beijing has now barred individuals from registering internet domain names and has begun a review of millions of existing personal websites in one of the biggest web censorship drives yet, the Financial Times reported. Internet service providers have already begun to examine their customer base for potentially "harmful" sites, which could mean sites with content as diverse as pornography and politically sensitive issues. According to government-backed China Internet Network Information Center, those applying to register a domain name must present a company chop and a business license. This latest move to control user-generated web content follows the blocking of a social media sites including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter as well as domestic versions of these sites.