Chinese netizens have decried a government campaign to shut down many of the nation's top celebrity gossip outlets as Beijing escalates its control over online content.

Over sixty social media accounts, which often cover celebrities’ sex lives, will be closed, according to state media, citing infractions such as disseminating "vulgar content" and “negatively impacting society”.

The government is tightening its control on online news outlets under the provisions of a wide-ranging new cyber security law, which came into force this month. The crackdown on salacious celebrity news that started Wednesday has already taken down many of China’s most popular entertainment channels on domestic social media, many of which claim tens of millions of followers.