Chinese regulators, often criticized both in and outside of China for manipulating public opinion by interfering with the flow of information online, have shut down 6,600 websites in their efforts to clamp down on “illegal public relations deals” that employ similar tactics for commercial gain.
According to state-run newspaper China Daily, telecommunications authorities shut the websites down as part of a campaign against bad public relations practices launched in April by the State Internet Information Office, recently set up to oversee Internet regulation, and several other government agencies.