Authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region have shut down several websites for allegedly spreading illegal content that damages ethnic unity, as they vowed to enforce the law more strictly on the Internet in 2016. 

According to news website ts.cn, the Xinjiang Internet Information Office has shut down the website v.eleman.cn after a tip it received said the website was involved in spreading illegal content and damaging ethnic unity. 

Two other websites, 653130.com and muzikam.com, were also shut down for a similar reason, ts.cn reported last week. 

A representative of the Xinjiang Internet Information Office said the government plans to strengthen law enforcement in cyberspace this year. 

The representative also cited the Measures on the Administration of Internet Information Service, which prohibits producing, duplicating, publishing and spreading content that incites ethnic hatred and discrimination, or harms ethnic unity. 

Last month, a Wechat public account called "Xinjiang Information Net" was suspended after it was reported to have adopted exaggerated headlines.

According to the news website, the account used "a series of bad news is on its way" and "something happened in Turpan" in the headline to describe a major snowstorm. 

Turpan is a city in eastern Xinjiang. The autonomous region has been troubled by terror attacks in the past few years. 

The Internet regulator in Xinjiang ruled that the account was a negative influence by using a malicious headline.