Crackdown on illegal mapping websites

The government will crack down on illegal mapping websites and other online sources of geographical information to address what has been called a threat to State security, an official with the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) said on Tuesday.

Eight departments, including the SBSM, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security, said they will tighten supervision of online map and geographical information service websites.

Min Yiren, deputy director of the SBSM, said there were nearly 10,000 online map websites in China, most of them showing unapproved maps.