Provisions on the Management of Internet Post Comments Services (Draft Revisions for Soliciting Comments)

【Issuing Body】Cybersecurity Administration
【Deadline for Feedback】2022/7/1 
[Source]http://www.cac.gov.cn/2022-06/17/c_1657089000974111.htm
 【English Comparative Version】 
Currently Effctive Version for proposed revision available here:

Provisions on the Management of Internet Post Comments Services

Provisions on the Management of Internet Post Comments Services

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 the management of internet post comment 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 use Internet post comment services within the mainland territory of the People's Republic of China shall abide by these Measures.

"Post comment services" as referred to in these Provisions, refers to Internet websites, applications, and other website platforms of a public opinion nature or with the capacity to mobilize the public, that provide services for users to express text, code, emojis, pictures, audio, video, or other information through methods such as posting messages, responding, leaving messages, streaming 'bullet' comments, and so forth.

Article 3: The state Internet Information department is responsible for oversight, management, and law enforcement efforts for post comment services nationwide. Local internet information departments are responsible for oversight, management, and law enforcement efforts for post comment services within the corresponding administrative region and on the basis of their duties.

All levels of internet information department shall establish and complete oversight and management systems that integrate daily oversight and inspection and regular inspections, and lawfully regulate post comment activity on all kinds of website platforms.

Article 4: Post comment service providers shall strictly implement primary responsibility for the management of post comment services, performing the following obligations in accordance with law:

(1) Follow the principle of 'real names on file, but whatever you want up front' , to conduct verification of identification information for registered users, and must not provide post comment services to users whose identification information has not been verified.

(2) Establish and complete systems for the protection of users' personal information: the handling of users' personal information shall comply with the principles of legality, propriety, necessity, and creditworthiness; disclose rules for handling personal information: giving notice of the goals and methods of handling personal information, the types of personal information to be handled, the period for retention, and other such matters; and obtain the consent of the individuals in accordance with law, except as otherwise provided by laws and administrative regulations.

(3) Where 'realtime comment stream' services are provided, corresponding static information content shall also be concurrently provided on the same platform or page.

(4) Establish and complete information security systems for the review and management, real-time inspection, emergency response, and the acceptance of reports for post comments, to review the content of post comments before publication, and promptly discover and address unlawful and negative information, and report it to the internet information departments.

(5) Innovate methods of management for post comments, research and develop techniques for the management of information security for post comments, to increase capacity for addressing illegal and negative information; p promptly discover risks such as security deficits or vulnerabilities in post comment services, employ remedial measures, and report them to the internet information departments.

(6) Appoint a review and editorial team corresponding to the scale of services, increasing the professional caliber of review and editorial staff.

(7) Cooperate with oversight and inspection efforts conducted by the internet information departments, and provide necessary technical and data support and assistance.

Article 5: Where post comment service providers that have public opinion properties or the capacity for social mobilization put new post comment products, applications, or functions online, they shall carry out security assessments in accordance with relevant state provisions.

Article 6: Post comment service providers shall sign an agreement with registered users, clarifying details of post comment services and management and rights and obligations of both parties such as publication authority and management responsibilities, perform obligations to give notice as provided by internet laws and regulations, and carry out education on online civility.

Article 7: Post comment service providers shall regulate and manage post comment service users and public account producer-operators in accordance with the user agreements. Post comment service providers shall employ measures such as warnings, publication refusals, deletion of information, function restrictions, suspending account updates, closing accounts, and prohibiting re-registration in accordance with laws and agreements to address service users who publish information content that violates laws, regulations, and relevant state provisions, and shall store the relevant records; for public account producer-operators who fail to fulfill their self-management obligations, leading to the appearance of illegal and negative information content in post comment areas, measures such as warnings, deletion of information, closing post comment functions for a period or permanently, suspending account updates, and prohibiting re-registration shall be promptly employed in accordance with laws and agreements and in light of the specific circumstances, the relevant records are to be stored and a report shall be promptly made to the internet information departments.

Article 8: Post comment service providers shall establish stratified user management systems, carrying out credit assessments of users' conduct in commenting on posts, and designate the scope of services and functionality on the basis of credit levels; entering the seriously untrustworthy onto a black list, stopping the provision of services to those entered onto the black list, and prohibiting them from using methods such as re-registration to set up accounts to use post comment services.

Article 9: Post comment service users shall obey laws and regulations, comply with public order and good custom, and carry forward the Core Socialist Values; they must not publish information content that is prohibited by laws, regulations, or relevant State provisions.

Article 10: Public account producer-operators shall fulfill the responsibility to manage post comment information content themselves and strengthen the review and management of the account's post comment information content to promptly discover illegal and negative information content in the post comment section, and employ necessary measures such as making reports and proactive dispositions.

Article 11: Public account producer-operators may apply to the post comment service providers to receive authority for self-management such as to receive reports, delete illegal or negative comment information, and shut down accounts' comment functions; and the post comment service providers shall provide related technical support.

Article 12: Post comment service providers and users, as well as public account producer-operators, must not violate the lawful rights and interests of others or seek unlawful benefits through tactics that interfere with the presentation of post comments, such as publishing, deleting, or recommending post comment information. Software, employment agencies and their personnel, and other such methods must not be used to disseminate information, heinously disrupting the normal order of post comments, and misguiding public opinion.

Article 13: Post comment service providers shall establish and complete systems for public complaints, reports, and appeals on illegal and negative information in post comments, set up fast and convenient portals for complaints, reports, and appeals, and promptly accept and handle complaints, reports, and appeals related to post comments.

Where post comment service users have objections to the handling of post comment information, they have the right to make a collateral appeal to the post comment service provider, who shall conduct an investigation and address it in accordance with user service agreements.

On the basis of their duties, the national and local internet information departments are to conduct oversight inspections on the acceptance of reports and appeals.

Article 14: Where post comment service providers do not adequately implement primary responsibility for the management of post comments, and there are larger security risks or security incidents occur, the national and local internet information departments are to employ measures in accordance with laws and regulations, such as giving warnings, circulating criticism, giving fines, suspending post comment functions, or stopping services.

Article 15: This regulation will take effect from XX/XX/2022.

RED= Deletion

Green= Addition

Blue= Editorial Change

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