PULLING THE PLUG

China's Piracy Crackdown

Uses Internet censors to look for copyrighted songs.

Chinese Web sites have long been the Wild West of copyright law, allowing users to quickly dig up millions of illegally posted songs and movies. Now China's strict censorship laws could be used to bring its music sites in line: The government is launching an effort to require these sites to seek approval through official channels before they distribute any foreign songs on the Internet. According to The Wall Street Journal, China's ministry of culture says the move will help address "the intermingling of good and bad content" as well as a "lack of supervision and regulation over market behavior," such as copyright violations. Translation: You might have to actually pay for that copy of The Blueprint 3 next time.