CAC Notice on "Provisions on the Governance of Cyberviolence Information (Comments Draft)"

[Source]http://www.cac.gov.cn/2023-07/07/c_1690295996362667.htm

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: These Provisions are drafted on the basis of the , "P.R.C. Cybersecurity Law", PRC Personal Information Protection Law, and other such laws and administrative regulations, so as to strengthen the governance of cyberviolence information, create a positive online ecosystem, safeguard the lawful rights and interests of citizens, and preserve the societal public interest.

Article 2: These Provisions apply to activities in the governance of the cyberviolence information within the [mainland] territory of the People's Republic of China.

“Cyberviolence Information” as used in these Provisions refers to illegal and negative impact that is published online such as insults and berating, spreading rumors and defamation, or violations of privacy, as well as that which impacts physical or psychological well-being such as moral kidnapping, belittling discrimination, malicious conjecture, and so forth.

Article 3: The State internet information department is responsible for the overall coordination of the governance of cyberviolence information throughout the nation and for related oversight and management work.

All levels of local internet information departments are responsible for the overall coordination of the governance of cyberviolence information within the corresponding administrative region, and for related oversight and management work.

Article 4: Related industry organizations are encouraged to strengthen self-discipline, urging and guiding online information service providers in strengthening the governance of cyberviolence information and accepting societal oversight.

Chapter II: Ordinary Provisions

Article 5: Online information service providers shall fulfill the primary responsibility for managing information content, establish and improve mechanisms for the governance of cyberviolence information, and complete systems such as for account management, reviews of published information, monitoring and early warnings, reporting and assistance, and addressing cyberviolence information.

Article 6: Online information service providers shall strengthen the management of user account information, preventing those pretending to be, posing as, or maliciously associating themselves with the parties in cyberviolence incidents from registering accounts or publishing information, and assist the parties in verifying their own accounts.

Article 7: Online information service providers shall draft and publicly release management rules and platform covenants, indicate in user agreements the responsibility that will be borne for the production, reproduction, publication, or dissemination of cyberviolence information, and perform the corresponding management duties in accordance with laws and agreements.

Article 8: Online information service providers shall periodically publish announcements on the governance of cyberviolence information, and report on related efforts in annual reports on efforts to govern the online information content ecosystem.

When it is discovered that there are risks of cyberviolence, the Online information service providers shall promptly publish about governance efforts, respond to societal concerns, guide citizens to speak rationally, and prevent and reject cyberviolence.

Chapter III: Monitoring and Early Warnings for Cyberviolence Information

Article 9: Online information service providers shall establish and complete standards for classifying cyberviolence information and a database of example cases, and clarify and refine standards related to cyberviolence information on the basis of distinguishing public opinion oversight and well-meaning criticism, to enhance the accuracy of identifications.

Article 10: Online information service providers shall dynamically manage key accounts involved with cyberviolence and promptly employ intervention and restraint measures, based on circumstances such as their history of published information, dispositions for violating rules, reports and complaints.

Article 11: Online information service providers shall establish and complete early warning models for cyberviolence information, comprehensively considering dimensions such as the type of incident, the targetted entity, the information content, the publication frequency, reports, and complaints, to establish cyberviolence recognition models suited to their own traits, to promptly discover early warnings of cyberviolence information risks.

Chapter IV: Addressing Cyberviolence Information

Article 12: Online information service providers that discover cyberviolence information such as insults and berating, spreading rumors and defamation, or violations of privacy, shall employ methods to address it such as deletion or blocking, breaking links, and restricting transmission. Negative information involving cyberviolence must not be presented in the key areas provided for in article 11 of the “Provisions on the Governance on the Online Information Content Ecology”, to prevent the spread and transmission of cyberviolence information.

Article 13: Online information service providers shall strengthen the management of information content in comments, promptly addressing cyberviolence information published or transmitted through means such as comments, replies, messages, scrolling bullet comments, or likes.

Article 14: Online information service providers shall strengthen the management of online community areas and groups; cyberviolence information must not be collected in terms, topics, supertopics [a Weibo function for interest groups], forums, or other areas, and it is prohibited to create topic areas or group accounts that publish negatively-oriented content, etc. in the name of anonymous submissions or 隔空喊话 [a form of aggregating anonymous posts using networked bots as masks].

Those establishing and managing online community areas and groups shall perform management responsibilities and regulate member’s online conduct and information publication, and where it is discovered that cyberviolence information has been produced, reproduced, published, or transmitted by users, they shall employ management measures such as removing them from the group in accordance with laws and agreements.

Article 15: Online information service providers shall strengthen content reviews for livestreams and short videos, promptly cutting off livestreams that involve cyberviolence information and addressing short videos that contain cyberviolence information.

Article 16: Internet news information services shall persist in the correct orientation for public opinion and strengthen the review of information contents’ veracity and legality, must not play up or hype cyberviolence incidents, and pre-publication review is to be implemented for comments on news information.

Article 17: Cyberviolence incidents must not be used by any organization or individual to carry out acts of malicious marketing hype such as stirring up interest, increasing traffic, intentionally driving the tempo, or moving and splicing false information across platforms. Online information service providers must not provide accounts or institutions that transmit cyberviolence with support such as in data traffic or funding.

Chapter V: Protection Mechanisms

Article 18: Online information service providers shall establish and improve functions for protecting against cyberviolence, providing a one-click setup for turning off private messages, comments, forwards, and information from strangers. When users suffer cyberviolence, the website platforms should promptly send system information alerting them to initiate one-key protections, to avoid cyberviolence information harassment and attacks.

Article 19: Online information service providers shall improve rules for private messaging, allowing users to make settings to receive private messages only from friends or to refuse all private messages, based on their own needs. Employ technical measures to block the transmission of cyberviolence information through private messaging.

Article 20: When online information service providers discover the following situations, they shall promptly assist the parties in activating protections to truly strengthen the protection of parties:

(1) Where the parties to cyberviolence involve minors or the elderly, etc.;

(2) Where parties express in public areas that they have suffered cyberviolence;

(3) Other situations where serious consequences might be caused if compulsory measures aren’t promptly employed to intervene.

Article 21: Online information service providers shall set up a easy portal in a conspicuous position for making complaints and reports on cyberviolence information, open a phone number for making complaints and reports on cyberviolence information, and simplify procedures for making complaints and reports.

Online information service providers should promptly accept and assess the content of complaints and reports and related supporting materials, address situations of clear cyberviolence in accordance with laws and rules, and give feedback on the outcome; where it is not found to be cyberviolence upon review, they shall accept it in accordance with the requirements for other types of reports, address it, and give feedback on the outcome.

Article 22: Online information service providers shall provide users with functions aimed at the one-click collection of evidence of cyberviolence information, to increase the ease with which evidence can be collected. Provide prompt and necessary technical support and assistance in accordance with laws and regulations, to preserve users’ rights and for judicial organs and relevant departments’ investigation and collection of evidence.

Article 23: Adhere to the principle of the best interests of minors, strengthening special and priority protections for minors. Online information service providers shall prioritize the handling of reports of cyberviolence information involving minors. Where risks that minor users have suffered cyberviolence are discovered, the illegal or unlawful information shall be promptly addresssed, protection and assistance service are to be provided, and a report is to be made to the relevant departments.

Chapter VI: Oversight Management and Legal Responsibility

Article 24: Internet information departments are to lawfully conduct oversight inspections of Online information service providers’ efforts to govern cyberviolence information.

Article 25: Internet information departments, together with relevant departments, are to establish and complete mechanisms for information sharing, consultation and reporting, collection of evidence, case oversight, and other work; and coordinate efforts to govern cyberviolence information.

Article 26: Where Online information service providers violate these Measures, penalties are to be given in accordance with the provisions of the PRC Cybersecurity Law, the PRC Law on the Protection of Personal Information, and other such laws and administrative regulations.

Where laws and administrative regulations are silent, all levels of internet information department are to give warnings, circulate criticism, and order that corrections be made in a set period of time on the basis of their duties, and may give a concurrent fine of between 10,000 and 100,000 RMB; and where not promptly addressing issues causes serious consequences such as harms to citizens’ lives or physical safety, a fine of between 100,000 and 200,000 RMB is to be given and a suspension of information updates may be ordered.

Online information service providers that initiate or organize cyberviolence, use cyberviolence incidents to carry out malicious marketing hype, or have other such conduct, shall be given severe heavier punishments in accordance with law.

Article 27: Online information service providers shall employ measures in accordance with laws and regulations such as warnings and communication, suspending commercial income, restricting the provision of services, or entry and checking of online institutions that organize or incite cyberviolence information.

Article 28: The Online information service providers shall employ measures in accordance with laws and agreements such as warnings and alerts, limiting account functions, or closing registered accounts to address online users who violate these Provisions; measures such as entry into blacklists and prohibiting new registration are to be taken against those who first send cyberviolence information, send it multiple times, or organize or incite its publication.

In addition to the provisions in the preceding paragraph, measures such as eliminating newly added followers and suspending profit-making authority shall be employed in accordance with law against those who use cyberviolence incidents to carry out acts such as malicious sales or illegal profit-seeking.

Online information service providers shall store relevant records and promptly report them to the Internet information departments and other related regulatory departments.

Article 29: Where violations of these Provisions cause injury to others, civil liability is to be borne in accordance with law; where it constitutes a violation of public security administration, public security administration punishments are to be given in accordance with law; where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is to be pursued in accordance with law.

Chapter VII: Supplementary Provisions

Article 30: The state internet information office is responsible for the interpretation of these Provisions.

Article 31: These Provisions are to take effect on XX/XX/XXXX.