Who's in charge of regulating the Internet in China: The history and evolution of China's Internet regulatory agencies.

The Chinese government plays a crucial role in domestic Internet development. This research represents the first attempt to comprehensively investigate the history and evolution of government agencies that are important in regulating the Internet. The study finds that the China's Internet governance can be classified into four models: (1) the Central Leading Group model; (2) the centrally led, governed by specialty model; (3) the multi-pronged management model; and (4) the recentralization of Internet governance. The historical development of these models represents an overall trend in China's cyberspace governance, which evolved from campaigns at the ministry/commission level into a top-down approach to governance, from administrative management into specialized management, and from decentralized management into centralized coordination. Moreover, changes in the regulatory responsibility and authority of various agencies indicate a shift of government priorities from technology development and infrastructure building to cyber security, informatization and ideological security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]