Notice on Effectively Strengthening the Governance of Cyberviolence

Notice on Effectively Strengthening the Governance of Cyberviolence

To all provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality Party Committee Internet information offices, and the Party Committee internet information office of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:

[Source]http://www.cac.gov.cn/2022-11/04/c_1669204414682178.htm
【Issuing Body】CAC
【Date of Issue】2022/11/2

Cyberviolence focuses on the publication of unlawful information and unfriendly information such as insults, derision, rumors, defamation, and invasion of privacy on individuals, encroaching on the lawful rights and interests of others and disturbing the normal order online. The following notice is given in order to truly strengthen the force of governance against cyberviolence, to further solidify the responsibility of website platforms, to complete and improve long-term and effective work mechanisms, to effectively safeguard the lawful rights and interests of netizens, and to preserve a civil and healthy online environment.

1. Establish and complete early warning and prevention mechanisms for cyber-violence

1. Strengthen content identification and early warnings. Website platforms should establish standards for classifying cyberviolence information and a database of example cases, and clarify and refine standards related to cyberviolence on the basis of distinguishing public opinion oversight and well-meaning criticism, to enhance the accuracy of identifications and early warnings. Continuously update categorization standards and improve the example database in consideration of website platforms' operational characteristics and the specific handling of cases.

2. Build technologic models for identifying cyber-violence. Website platforms should comprehensively consider 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, and promptly discover early warnings of cyberviolence trends and emerging issues.

3. Establish emergency response mechanisms for public opinion related to cyber-violence. Website platforms should organize dedicated workforces to promptly collect hot topics and public sentiment leads related to cyberviolence, strengthening advance early warnings on public sentiment on cyberviolence, to quickly address emerging problems and nip them in the bud. Promptly discover irregular cyberviolence conduct based on circumstances such as a notable increase in private messages from strangers, related topics surging in popularity, rapid increases in the number of searches, and an increased number of reports.

II. Strengthen the Protection of Parties to Cyber-violence

1. Setup a one-key protection function. Based on their own characteristics, website platforms should establish and improve emergency protection functions, providing one-key closure of private messages from strangers, comments, forwards, and @ information. When users suffer cyberviolence, the website platforms should promptly send system information alerting them to initiate on-key protections, to avoid cyberviolence information harassment and attacks.

2. Optimize private messaging rules. Further improve rules for private messaging to add restrictions to the number, time, and scope of private messages from strangers and allow users to change settings to only accept private messages from friends or refuse all private messages, base on their own needs. Employ technological measures with reference to the standards for categorizing cyberviolence information to prevent the transmission of cyberviolence content through personal messages.

3. Establish channels for fast reporting. Set up a portal for fast complaints and reporting of cyberviolence information in website platforms' comments areas, private messaging, and other such locations, and simplify the procedures for complaints and reports; website platforms should address clear cyberviolence information immediately. Provide users with one-key functions to capture proof of cyberviolence information, facilitating parties' quick collection of evidence. Adhere to the principle of the best interests of minors, giving priority to handling reports of cyberviolence involving minors.

III. Strictly prevent the spread of cyberviolence information

1. Strengthen the management of comments sections. Website platforms should strengthen the management of the comment section for news, posts, topics, and other information related to cyberviolence risks, and promptly clear up and filter comments involving cyberviolence that violate laws and regulations, strictly controlling the wider transmission of cyberviolence and unfriendly comments, and prioritizing the display of authoritative information. Key website platforms should collect and display users' comments published in public spaces on their own account page, to strengthen public oversight.

2. Strengthen the management of key topic groups and sections. Promptly disperse topic sections in which cyberviolence information is concentrated, and suspend the establishment of sections on related topics. Closely inspect entries, topics, groups, and posts named after relevant events, parties, and related persons, and promptly clean up content involving cyber violence. Screen and close down topic sections and group accounts that publish content with a negative orientation in the guise of anonymous submissions or 隔空喊话 [a form of aggregating anonymous posts using networked bots as masks]

3. Strengthen the management of livestreams and short videos. Strengthen content review for livestreams and short videos, promptly stopping livestream rooms where cyberviolence content is concentrated, ban hosts that violate rules, review short videos that have a risk of being cyberviolence prior to publication, clear out short videos that have cyberviolence information, and intercept and filter negative barrage comments. Pay close attention live stream rooms set up by parties to cyberviolence, promptly controlling information such as that which might induce self-harm or suicide.

4. Strengthen the disclosure of authoritative information. All local internet information departments should play close attention to public sentiment and information trends related to cyberviolence, urging and coordinating relevant departments and localities to strengthen publication of authoritative information. For hot incidents that have a risk of cyberviolence, website platforms should promptly forwards and push authoritative information, lead netizens to speak rationally, and jointly resist acts of cyberviolence.

4. Strict punishment in accordance with law

1. Address accounts related to cyberviolence by type. First is strengthening warning notices before accounts post, alerting accounts that publish unfriendly information to speak reasonably. Second is conducting warnings and education for accounts that participate in cyberviolence and employing measures such as muting posts or suspending private messaging functions in light of the circumstances. The third is to take measures in accordance with laws and regulations such as closing accounts that first publish, frequently publish, or incite publication of cyberviolence information, and where the circumstances are particularly serious, prohibit the registration of new accounts across the web. Fourth is transferring those that involve violations or crimes to the relevant departments for legal responsibility to be pursued in accordance with law. Website platforms should strengthen the degree of exposure, promptly publicly disclosing the handling of hot incidents of cyberviolence.

2. Strictly punish conduct such as maliciously using cyberviolence for marketing and hype. Resolutely combat malicious marketing hyping such as the use of cyberviolence incidents to create hype, promote traffic, intentionally stir up interest, or connect false information from across platforms, further investigate MCN establishments behind it, and employ connected measures to address MCN establishments such as through warnings and communication, suspending commercial income, restricting provision of services, or expulsion. Where account names are temporarily changed to those of institutions or persons related to an incident, website platforms shall strengthen the real identity verification of users.

3. Accountability and punishment of website platforms that derelict their duties. For website platforms that have a lot of cyberviolence information, have incomplete prevention mechanisms and do not promptly accept and address reports, causing vile consequences, employ measures in accordance with laws and regulations such as circulating criticism, ordering corrections in a set period of time, fines, suspension of information updating, or closing websites, and strictly address the persons responsible.

V. Work Requirements

1. Increase ideological awareness. All local internet information departments should further increase political standing, fully recognize the important significance of carrying out efforts to govern cyberviolence, further refine and clarify task requirements and work measures, and ensure the governance efforts are effective.

2. Solidify work responsibilities. Guide and urge website platforms to solidify entity responsibility, compare work requirements, optimize the setup of all functions, increase technical levels, strengthen the discovery and handling of issues, continuously improve work tactics, and truly increase the capacity to govern the cyberviolence issue and the level of governance.

3. Strengthen long-term and effective governance.All local internet information departments should strengthen work guidance, organize and carry out special inspections on the implementation of measures by website platforms in the area, and urge the implementation of corrections. All areas' website platforms should summarize effective experiences and practices in a timely manner, to improve long-term effective mechanisms for the governance of cyber violence.