(CNN) -- Whether you're a domestic company or an international business, failure to comply with China's strict Internet regulations risks having your online presence curtailed or shut down completely. This means being subjected to the so-called "Great Firewall of China," where websites, from newspaper portals to micro-blogging services, come under intense scrutiny from government censors who prohibit topics deemed unsuitable. "Bottom line is that there's a list of topics that domestic and international media based in China doesn't allow discussions on," said Doug Young, journalism professor at Fudan University in Shanghai and author of "The Party Line: How The Media Dictates Public Opinion in Modern China."
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Companies based in China must comply with strict internet regulations, or be blocked online
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Many international social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube are blocked in China
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Google moved its Chinese search engine to Hong Kong in 2010, to avoid censorship
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Google recently removed a censorship-warning feature from its Chinese search engine
YouTube
@placeholder, which is owned by Google, was also blocked in 2009.
Google
Google
YouTube, which is owned by @placeholder, was also blocked in 2009.
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Chinese
Read more: @placeholder newspaper in eye of censorship storm back on sale
China
China
China
Modern China
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China
Major international news organizations have also been at the receiving end of @placeholder's censors, frequently finding their services blocked when they report on issues seen as sensitive to the Chinese government.
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Chinese
Major international news organizations have also been at the receiving end of China's censors, frequently finding their services blocked when they report on issues seen as sensitive to the @placeholder government.
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Chinese
Initially, the company agreed to censor the content in accordance with @placeholder Internet regulations.
Google
Google
"They [the government] don't want to block @placeholder entirely, but they still do what they can to make the user experience as horrible as possible," Young said.