Internet User Public Account Information Services Management Provisions (2021)

Promulgation Date: 2021-1-24
Title: Internet User Public Account Information Services Management Provisions
Document Number:
Expiration date: 
Promulgating Entities: Cybersecurity Administration
Source of text: http://www.cac.gov.cn/2021-01/22/c_1612887880656609.htm
NOTE THAT THE 'PUBLIC ACCOUNTS' PROVIDED FOR HERE, REFERS TO VERIFIED PUBLIC-FACING ACCOUNTS.

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: These Provisions are formulated on the basis of the Cybersecurity Law of the P.R.C., the Measures on the Administration of Internet Information Services, the Provisions on the Governance of the Online Ecosystem, and other relevant laws and regulations so as to regulate Internet user public account information services, preserve national security and the public interest, and protect the lawful rights and interests of citizens, legal persons, and other organizations.

Article 2: Those who provide or engage in internet user public account information services within the People's Republic of China shall abide by these Measures.

Article 3: The State Internet Information Office is responsible for the supervision, management, and law enforcement efforts on Internet user public account information services nationwide. Based on their duties, local Internet Information Offices are responsible for the supervision, management, and law enforcement efforts on Internet user public account information services in the corresponding administrative region.

Article 4: Public account information service platforms and public account producer-operators shall comply with laws and regulations, follow public order and good custom, perform social responsibilities, adhere to the correct orientation of public opinion and values, advocate the Core Socialist Values, produce and publish high-quality uplifting and enriching content, developing an active and health online civilization, and maintain a positive cyberspace.

All levels of Party and government organ, enterprises and public institutions, and people's organizations are encouraged to register and operate public accounts, producing and publishing high-quality information on government affairs or public services, to satisfy the public's demand for information and promote economic and social development.

Internet user public account information service platforms are encouraged to provide necessary technological supports and information security safeguards for Party and government organs, enterprises, public institutions,and people's organizations to increase publication of government affairs information and public service information and the level of social governance.

Article 5: Public account information service platforms providing Internet user public account information services shall obtain the credentials provided for by state laws and administrative regulations.

Public account information service platforms and public account producer-operators providing Internet news information services to the public shall obtain Internet news information service permits.

Chapter II: Public Account Information Service Platforms

Article 6: Public Account Information Service Platforms shall perform primary responsibility for the management of information content and public account management, alotting management personnel and technical capabilities appropriate to the scale of operations, setting up positions responsible for content security, and shall establish, complete, and strictly implement management systems such as for account registration, information security, ecology governance, emergency response, network security, data security, protection of personal information, intellectual property rights protection, and credit assessment.

On the basis of laws, regulations, and related state provisions, Public Account Information Service Platforms shall draft and disclose management rules and platform conventions on the production of information content and public account producing operators, and sign agreements with public account producer-operators clarifying the parties' rights and obligations such as publication rights and account management responsibilities.

Article 7: Public Account Information Service Platforms shall establish a system of categorical registration and production for public accounts in accordance with national standards and specifications, implement differentiated management.

Public Account Information Service Platforms shall establish a hierarchical management system based on the quality of information content produced by public accounts, their capacity to disseminate information, the account entity's credit appraisal, and other such indicators, and carry out hierarchical management.

Public Account Information Service Platforms shall file public accounts and rules for content production and managing account operations, platform conventions, and service agreements with the provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality internet information departments; and new applications or functions with public opinion character or having the ability to mobilize the public that are being brought online shall have a security assessment conducted in accordance with relevant provisions.

Article 8: Public Account Information Service Platforms shall employ complex verification measures for users applying to register public accounts, such as conducting real name information verification based on means such as mobile phone numbers, resident identity card numbers, or uniform social credit codes, to provide high accuracy authentication. Where users do not provide real identity information or falsely use the real identity information of organizations or other people to falsely register, the network operators must not provide them with relevant services.

Public Account Information Service Platforms shall conduct verification of the names, avatars, and description of public accounts registered by internet users, and where they discover that these do not match the real identity of the registering entity shall suspend the provision of services and notify the users to correct it, especially where the name of Party or government organs, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations, names associated with them, or the names of famous persons are used without permission, and where the corrections are refused, shall cease providing services; and where it is discovered that the registration information contains illegal or negative content, it shall be promptly addressed in accordance with law.

Public Account Information Service Platforms shall prohibit new similar registrations by public accounts that have been closed in accordance with laws or platform conventions; and shall also conduct necessary verification of the real identity and service qualifications of account entity's registering closely associated account names.

Article 9: Public Account Information Service Platforms shall require users who are applying to register public accounts to produce information content in fields such as economics, education, medical health, or justice to provide materials related to their professional background as well as professional and service qualifications obtained in accordance with laws and administrative regulations, and shall conduct necessary verification.

Public Account Information Service Platforms shall add special symbols to public accounts that have been verified and based on the different characters of the users, publicly announce registration information such as the production category, business name, registered business address, uniform social credit code, and contact information to facilitate societal oversight and inquiries.

Public Account Information Service Platforms shall establish systems for dynamic inspection patrols to verify the truth and validity of producer-operators' registered information at appropriate times.

Article 10: Public Account Information Service Platforms shall set reasonable limits on the number of public accounts that a single user may register. They shall further conduct necessary verifications of the character, service qualifications, scope of business, credit assessment, and so forth, of users applying to register multiple public accounts.

Based on the service agreement, Public Account Information Service Platforms may suspend or terminate the provision of services for internet users that do not log in or use public accounts for six months or more after they have been registered.

Public Account Information Service Platforms shall establish sound technical measures to prevent and address registrations in violation of rules such as users exceeding limits on the number of registered accounts, malicious registration, or fake registration.

Article 11: In accordance with laws and platform conventions, Public Account Information Service Platforms shall prohibit public account producer-operators from transferring public accounts in violation of rules.

Where public account producer-operators transfer usage privileges to other users, they shall submit an application to the platform. Based on the provisions of the proceeding preceding paragraph, platforms shall conduct authentication and verification of accounts of the transferee user and announce the change in entity information. Where platforms discover that producer-operators have transferred public accounts without first applying, they shall promptly suspend or cease the provision of services.

Public account producer-operators that are stopping account operation on their own may apply for the platform to suspend or terminate use. Platforms shall suspend or terminate the provision of services in accordance with the service agreement.

Article 12: Public Account Information Service Platforms shall establish mechanisms for monitoring and assessment of public accounts, to prevent the fabrication of data such as subscription numbers, followers, clicks rates, or the number of forwards and comments.

Public Account Information Service Platforms shall regulate mechanisms for recommending subscriptions or following of public accounts, completing technical methods to promptly discover and address irregular changes in the number of subscribers and followers. Subscription or following of other users' public accounts must not be compelled or indirectly compelled in any fashion without the informed consent of the internet users.

Article 13: Public account information service platforms shall establish credit level systems for producers and operators, and provide services corresponding to credit levels.

Public Account Information Service Platforms shall establish and complete mechanisms for the early warning, discovery, tracing back, screening, dispelling, and elimination of online rumors and other false information, and reduce the credit level of public account producer-operators that make or publish false information, or place them on a blacklist.

Article 14: Public Account Information Service Platforms and producer-operators promoting or cooperating with producer-operators to develop content or promote accounts shall regulate and manage business conduct such as e-commerce sales, publishing advertisements, intellectual property fees, and user commendations; and must not publish false advertisements, conduct exaggerated publicity, carry out commercial fraud, commercial slander, and so forth, to prevent operations in violation of laws and regulations.

Public Account Information Service Platforms shall strengthen the protection of copyrights for original information content and prevent piracy and encroachment on rights.

Platforms must not use their position to interfere with producer-operators operations in accordance with laws and rules, or encroach on users' lawful rights and interests.

Chapter III: Public Account Producer-Operators

Article 15: In accordance with the platform's rules for categorical management, public account producer-operators shall truthfully fill out basic information when registering public accounts such as the entity's characteristics, place of registration, place of operations, types of content produced, and contact information; and organizational users shall further indicate their primary business or the scope of their operations.

Public account producer-operators shall follow platform management rules for content production and account operation, platform conventions, and service agreements, and publish content information within relevant industries and fields in accordance with the type of information production entered when registering the public account.

Article 16: Public account producer-operators shall perform primary responsibility for the management of information content production and public account operations, engaging in information content production and public account operation activity in accordance with laws and regulations.

Public account producer-operators shall establish and complete mechanisms for content security reviews throughout all processes from title selection and planning, editing and production, publication and promotion, and interactive commenting, to strengthen reviews of information content orientation, veracity, and lawfulness, and preserve positive order of online transmission.

Public account producer-operators shall establish and complete mechanisms for security management throughout all processes such as the registration, use, operation, and promotion of public accounts, to lawfully and civilly regulate and manage public account operations, drawing in public followers, subscribers, and interactive sharers with high-quality content, and preserving account's positive public image.

Public account producer-operators cooperating with third party establishments to carry out public account operations or content provision should sign a written agreement with the third-party establishment, clarify the third parties' information security management obligations, and oversee their performance.

Article 17: Where public account producer-operators forward information content， they shall comply with laws and regulations related to copyright protection, lawfully indicating the copyright holders with trackable information sources, and respecting and protecting the lawful rights and interests of copyright holders.

Public account producer-operators shall conduct management of the public accounts' messages, discussion, comments, and other interactive elements. Platforms may reasonably set up management restrictions for public accounts based on their characteristics, credit levels, and so forth, and provide relevant technical support.

Article 18: Public account producer-operators must not commit the following violations of laws and regulations:

(1) Not registering with real identity information, or registering a public account name, avatar, or description that is not consistent with their real identity;

(2) maliciously impersonating, posing as, or counterfeiting as other organizations or persons public accounts to produce or publish information content;

(3) providing Internet news information services such as editorial or publication services without a permit or exceeding the scope of a permit;

(4) exploiting multiple platform accounts to publish repetitive low-quality information content, generate false traffic data, or create artificial hot topics;

(5) Using emergency incidents to enflame extreme passions or carrying out online violence to injure the reputations of other people or organizations and establishments so as to disrupt their normal operations, impacting social harmony and stability;

(6) Concocting false information, falsely stating that content is original, citing untrue information sources, distorting the truth of facts, or misleading the public;

(7) Carrying out illegal internet oversight, sales fraud, extortion, or blackmail through methods such as taking payment for publication or deletion of information to obtain illegal benefits;

(8) Batch registration, hoarding, or illegally trading in public accounts in violation of rules;

(9) Creating, reproducing, or publishing illegal information or not employing measures to prevent and resist the production, reproduction, or publication of negative information;

(10) Other conduct prohibited by laws and regulations.

Chapter IV: Oversight and Management

Article 19: Public Account Information Service Platforms shall strengthen oversight and management of public account information service activities on that platform to promptly discover and address information and content that violates laws and regulations.

Public Account Information Service Platforms shall take measures in accordance with laws and agreements to address public accounts that violate these Provisions or relevant laws and regulations, including giving warnings, limiting account functions, suspending information updates, stopping publication of advertisements, closing or deregistering accounts, entering them in blacklists, prohibiting them from re-registering, or otherwise address them, save relevant records, and promptly report to the internet information departments and other relevant regulatory departments.

Article 20: Public account information service platforms and producer-operators shall consciously accept societal supervision.

Public Account Information Service Platforms shall set up conspicuous and convenient portals for making complaints and reports, and announce the methods for making complaints, reports, and appeals; and establish mechanisms for accepting, screening, addressing, and responding to report information, clarifying the process for handling them and time limits for giving feedback, to promptly handle the public's complaints and reports and producer-operators' appeals.

Encourage internet industry organizations to carry out public reviews and promote strict self-discipline among Public Account Information Service Platforms and producer-operators, establishing authoritative multilateral mediation mechanisms to fairly and reasonably resolve industry disputes, lawfully preserving users' lawful rights and interests.

Article 21: All levels of internet information department are to collaborate with relevant regulatory departments to establish and complete mechanisms for coordination and regulation of work, overseeing and guiding Public Account Information Service Platforms and producer-operators' engagement in information service activities in accordance with laws and regulations.

Public Account Information Service Platforms and producer-operators shall cooperate with oversight inspections lawfully carried out by regulatory departments, and provide necessary technical support and assistance.

Where Public Account Information Service Platforms and producer-operators violate these Provisions, the internet information departments and other related regulatory departments are to handle it in accordance with relevant laws and regulations within the scope of the duties.

Chapter V: Supplementary Provisions

Article 22: "Internet user public accounts" as used in these Provisions refers to online accounts registered and operated by users on web pages, applications, or other online platforms, to produce or publish text, images, A/V or other information.

"Public Account Information Service platforms" as used in these Provisions refers to providers of online information services that provide users with account registration and operation services and information content publication and technical safeguard services.

"Public account producer-operators" as used in these Provisions refers to natural persons, legal persons, or unincorporated organizations registering and operating public accounts and engaging in the publication or information.

Article 23: These Provisions take effect on February 22, 2021. Where these Provisions are inconsistent with related provisions promulgated before these provisions, these provisions apply.