China Shut Down 1.3M Websites in 2010 [STUDY]

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Despite the 1.3 million Chinese sites that were shut down, the study insists there is a high level of Internet freedom in China.

"This means our content is getting stronger, while our supervision is getting more strict and more regulated," Liu Ruisheng, a Chinese researcher told the BBC.

The Chinese government has tightened regulations on websites and the content they post. Even though China's constitution guarantees freedom of speech, the government is able to shut down websites under a "subversion of state power" clause and if their content is deemed unfit. Human rights groups have dubbed this effort the Great Firewall of China. In June, the UN declared disconnecting people from the Internet a violation of human rights.