Economics
China Said to Explore Taking Stakes in Some News Websites
- Stakes would be in exchange for providing ‘news’ licenses
- Government would hold board seats, could block content
China's Government Seeks Control Over Big Tech: WSJ
This article is for subscribers only.
China is considering taking board seats and stakes of at least 1 percent in operators of some Internet portals and mobile apps in exchange for granting news licenses, according to people familiar with the plan.
The government would issue the licenses in exchange for stock and a board seat, according to the people, who asked to not be identified because the details haven’t been made public. Government representatives could monitor and block content distributed by Internet providers, although they wouldn’t be involved in other day-to-day business decisions, according to the people.