China replaces the head of its Cyberspace Administration

Lu Wei, China’s chief Internet regulator, has stepped down. Lu Wei was included in Time’s list of 100 most influential people and has extensively been criticised for his policy of surveillance and control. He will be replaced by Xu Lin, who has previously worked alongside Chinese president Xi Jinping. According to an expert of The Guardian, Xi ‘wanted someone closer to him to be in charge of internet policy.’ The Cyberspace Administration’s approach to Internet governance is unlikely to change, he writes. ‘If anything I would expect to see a further increase in the Chinese government’s efforts to monitor and control the internet within China as well as to influence the content of the internet outside of China.’