The Chinese government broadened its recent effort to limit pornography on the Internet by criticizing 19 Internet companies by name Monday, including Google and Baidu, the providers of the two most popular search engines in the country.

A statement posted by early Monday afternoon on a government-run news site said the Ministry of Public Security and six other government agencies would work together "to purify the Internet's cultural environment and protect the healthy development of minors." A similar statement had been issued Dec. 5 but attracted little attention.

Read full story: International Herald Tribune

Updates:  UPDATED Jan 12, 2009 10:48 AM PST
China closes 90 websites as internet crackdown intensifies Guardian News, Jan.12.2009

Related topics: Access Providers, Censorship, Policy & Regulation