China is replacing its top internet regulator and censor, Lu Wei, who had become the face of the government's increasingly complicated dealings with foreign technology companies.
The official Xinhua news agency reported Wednesday that Lu would be replaced by his deputy, Xu Lin, in implementing government policies concerning the internet, including overseeing social media and negotiating with technology firms that want to do business in China.
The outspoken and gregarious Lu spent years defending China's censorship policies and restrictions on foreign social media platforms like Facebook as a matter of national security. At international conferences, Lu pushed China's vision of "internet sovereignty," a world order in which every government could dictate their cyberspace and how their citizens access the web.
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