China is widening it’s controls on the internet and is now targeting news sites.

Established news media needed permission to run a news Web site, it said. New operators had to register themselves with government information offices.

China has a dedicated band of cyber police who patrol the Internet with the aim of regulating content. Postings that criticize the government or address sensitive topics are quickly removed.

Registration was a feature of rules imposed earlier this year aimed at not-for-profit Internet activities, such as personal Web sites and blogs.

The US National Security Agency applied for a patent this week for technology that will permit them to identify the physical location of any internet user.