China's Internet regulator responds to apparent blocking of HK newspaper sites

Copies of the South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper are seen on a newspaper stand in Hong Kong, China, in this November 26, 2015 file photo. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has agreed on a HK$2.06 billion ($265.8 million) deal to acquire the South China Morning Post and other media assets of SCMP Group Ltd, the newspaper group said in a statement on December 14, 2015. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/Files

BEIJING: China's Internet regulator, asked about the apparent blocking of some online accounts of Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, said that Internet service providers were responsible for online content and had the right to shut down websites. 

The comment came in response to a Reuters enquiry about reports that the social media accounts of Hong Kong's biggest English-language daily newspaper had been blocked and that a critical online Chinese-language Caixin magazine article had been deleted.