Chapter I: General Provisions
Article 1: This law is drafted to prevent, stop, and punish cyberviolence, strengthen efforts to combat cyberviolence, protect the lawful rights and interests of individuals and organizations, and preserve national security and the societal public interest.
Article 2: Cyberviolence as used in this law refers to using the internet to carry out the following activities that injure individuals’ or organizations' lawful rights and interests, such as in their reputation, honor, privacy, likeness, and personal information, in a concentrated or sustained manner:
(1) Concentrated publication of information that contains insults, rumor-mongering, defamation, incitements of hatred, or foments antagonism, threatening coercion, discrimination, or prejudice, etc. (hereinafter referred to as “cyberviolence information”) ;
(2) Illegally publishing others’ personal information in a concentrated manner;
(3) Continuously engaging in online intimidation, harassment, etc.;
(4) Other cyberviolence activities that harm others’ lawful rights and interests.
Article 3: This law applies to activities on the prevention and governance of cyberviolence within the [mainland] territory of the P.R.C.
Cyberviolence carried out by overseas organizations or individuals that are carried out against targets in the [mainland] territory of the PRC are to be addressed and pursued for responsibility in accordance with the relevant provisions of this law.
Article 4: The provision and use of online services shall adhere to the Core Socialist Values, comply with laws and regulations, respect social mores and ethics, promote the formation of an active, healthy, and uplifting culture online, and maintain a positive online ecology.
Organizations and individuals must not carry out cyberviolence harming the societal public interest or the lawful rights and interests of others; they must not use cyberviolence to carry out marketing hype, unfair competition, or other acts prohibited by laws and administrative regulations.
Article 5: The state is to adhere to the principles of prevention at the source, employing diverse measures, targeted action, coordinated co-governance, and governance in accordance with law; advocate the scientific, civil, safe, and reasonable use of the internet; and employ measures to prevent and address cyberviolence.
Article 6: The State cybersecurity and informatization department is responsible for the overall coordination of efforts to combat cyberviolence throughout the nation and for related oversight and management work. The State Council public security department is to carry out efforts to counter cyberviolence and related oversight and management work on the basis of its duties, to combat and correct cyberviolence crimes. Relevant State Council departments, such as for education, telecommunications, civil affairs, culture and tourism, health, radio and television, are to carry out efforts to counter cyberviolence and related oversight and management work on the basis of their duties.
Local cybersecurity and informatization departments are responsible for the overall coordination of efforts to counter cyberviolence information within the corresponding administrative region and for related oversight and management work. Local public security departments are to carry out efforts to counter cyberviolence and related oversight and management work within the corresponding administrative region on the basis of their duties, to combat and correct cyberviolence crimes. Relevant local departments, such as for education, telecommunications, civil affairs, culture and tourism, health, radio and television, are to carry out efforts to counter cyberviolence and related oversight and management work within the corresponding administrative region on the basis of their duties.
The people's courts and people's procuratorates are to give play to their functions in adjudication and inspection to prevent and correct cyberviolence.
Article 7: Labor unions, the Communist Youth League, Women's Federation, Disable Persons Federation, and other mass organizations shall give play to their respective strengths to carry out efforts such as publicity, governance, and aid in countering cyberviolence aimed at the sectors and groups that they have contact with.
Article 8: The state is to encourage and support the research and development and expanded application of technologies for the prevention and governance of cyberviolence, encourage the active formulation of technical standards related to governing cyberviolence, and use AI technology to increase capacity for governing cyberviolence.
Article 9: The state is to enhance publicity and education on countering cyberviolence, employ measures to foster and increase citizens’ online literacy, and form a positive environment for the entire society’s participation in countering cyberviolence.
Article 10: Departments bearing duties on the prevention and governance of cyberviolence shall carry out publicity and education on cyberviolence, spreading laws and regulations related to cyberviolence, enhancing citizens’ conception of the rule of law, and increasing citizens’ awareness and ability to counter cyberviolence.
People’s courts, people’s procuratorates, public security organs, and so forth, shall integrate publicity and education into the course of case handling, using means such as open hearings of cases in accordance with law, explaining the law and reasoning of legal documents, publishing and explaining example cases, to carry out publicity and education on countering cyberviolence.
Newspaper and publication units, news agencies, radio stations, television stations, and other new media and online information service providers shall innovate methods of publicity, using means such as the establishment of dedicated columns, strengthening news reports, publishing public interest advertisements to carry out targeted publicity and education on countering cyberviolence.
Chapter II: Platform Governance
Article 11: Online service providers shall establish and complete systems related to countering cyberviolence, such as for user registration, account management, personal information protection, review of information for publication, monitoring and alerts, identification and disposition, complaints, and reports; and draft and disclose management rules and platform covenants, sign service agreements with users, and clarify rights and obligations relating to the prevention and governance of cyberviolence.
Article 12: Online service providers that provide information publication, instant messaging, and other such services to users shall require users to provide their real identity information when concluding the user agreement with users or confirming the provision of services. Where users do not provide real identity information, online service providers must not provide them with the relevant services.
Article 13: Online service providers shall establish and complete mechanisms for the monitoring and identification of cyberviolence, establish a pool of cyberviolence markers, an example case pool, and early-warning models in accordance with relevant state provisions; employ a combination of technological measures such as AI and big data, and manual review, to strengthen monitoring, identification, and early-warnings for cyberviolence.
Where online service providers discover risks of cyberviolence, they must not use algorithm recommendations or other means to push the related information, and shall promptly conduct dynamic real-name identity verification of the irregular accounts and employ measures such as warnings on risky conduct, traffic limitations, or suspending information updates; and place a cyberviolence warning marker in a conspicuous location, alert users to interact civilly and speak rationally; and where they discover notable increases in the browsing, searching, commenting, or reporting on related information content, they shall also promptly report to the relevant departments.
On the foundation of performing the obligations provided for in the first and second paragraphs of this article, online service providers shall also strengthen prevention and governance of the use of AI technologies to produce, reproduce, publish, and transmit cyberviolence information or otherwise carry out cyberviolence, follow relevant state provisions to implement systems such as for labeling AI generated or synthesized content, to enhance capacity for tracking cyberviolence information to its source; and where they discover risks on the use of AI technologies to produce, reproduce, publish, and transmit cyberviolence information or otherwise carry out cyberviolence, they shall employ related measures, carry out information tracking, and report to the relevant departments.
Article 14: Online service providers shall follow relevant state provisions to establish and complete functions for protecting against cyberviolence, provide users with conveniently set-up options for cyberviolence protections, such as blocking unknown or specified users, and prohibiting forwarding or commenting on their own published information.
Where online service providers discover that users are facing a risk of cyberviolence, they shall promptly notify the user in a conspicuous fashion and inform them of prevention measures they may employ.
Online service providers that discover risks of cyberviolence that might infringe on the lawful rights and interests of minors, the elderly, or persons with disabilities, or might cause harmful consequences such as injury to users’ persons or property, shall also provide users with guidance on protection against cyberviolence and protection assistance services, assist with the initiation of protective measures, and report to relevant departments such as for internet information; and where leads involving cyberviolence crimes are discovered, they shall promptly report the case to the public security organs.
Online service providers, such as for livestreaming, videos, and social media, shall follow the laws, administrative regulations, and relevant state provisions to use minors’ modes to provide services to minors, and provide their guardians with functions, such as for receiving cyberviolence safety risk alerts and learning about the use of relevant online services, in a conspicuous and convenient manner.
Article 15: Online service providers shall follow the standards and rules for classification of cyberviolence information formulated by the state cybersecurity and informatization department in conjunction with the relevant State Council departments, and refine rules for classifying and identifying cyberviolence information in the services they provide.
Article 16: Online service providers shall fulfil network information security management obligations in accordance with law, employing security measures and preventing the publication and transmission of cyberviolence information; and where cyberviolence information is discovered, they shall immediately stop its transmission, and employ measures to address it, such as deletion, blocking, breaking links, limiting account functions and monetization, or closing accounts, and store the relevant records and report them to the cybersecurity and informatization departments and other relevant departments.
On the basis of their agreements, online service providers shall also employ measures such as blacklisting and prohibiting new registrations for online accounts that organize or incite the publication of cyberviolence information, as well as those that have circumstances such as exploiting cyberviolence for marketing hype.
Article 17: Where online service providers discover and address cyberviolence information and related online accounts, they shall promptly store data such as the cyberviolence information content and the volume of views, comments, and forwards, and provide users with functions, such as for quickly and easily collecting evidence of cyberviolence, in a conspicuous location, to facilitate users’ protection of their rights in accordance with law.
Article 18: Users who have suffered harm from cyberviolence have the right to notify the online service providers to employ measures such as deletion, blocking, or breaking links. After online service providers receive notice, they shall promptly adopt the necessary measures to stop the cyberviolence, eliminate the negative impact, and prevent the spread of the information in accordance with law.
Article 19: Online service providers shall establish and complete systems for dispelling rumors, and where they discover cyberviolence information that contains false or misleading content, etc., they shall promptly employ measures to debunk the rumors, store the relevant records, and report to the relevant departments in charge.
Article 20: Online service providers shall establish and complete systems for the categorical and graded management of user accounts, and include circumstances related to cyberviolence that violates laws and regulations in credit level appraisal systems, lowering relevant accounts' credit levels in accordance with laws and agreements, and provide relevant services on this basis.
Article 21: Online platform service providers that have a massive number of users or a notable impact on users shall establish and complete rapid response mechanisms, periodically carry out cyberviolence risk assessments, publish annual reports of cyberviolence governance, and accept societal oversight.
Article 22: Where online service providers employ measures such as limiting or suspending services to address accounts involved in cyberviolence, they shall give notice of matters such as the reasons for the disposition and remedial channels, and the subject of the disposition may submit an appeal to the online service provider that made the decision or employed the measures. Online service providers shall establish and improve appeals channels, promptly accept appeals, and conduct reviews; where the reviews are passed, they shall immediately release the relevant measures.
Chapter III: Governance by the Government.
Article 23: The state cybersecurity and informatization department, in conjunction with the State Council departments such as for public security, education, telecommunications, civil affairs, culture and tourism, health, radio and television, are to establish and complete mechanisms for the governance of cyberviolence; to conduct categoric governance of cyberviolence based on its type, the scale of participation, the scope of impact, the degree of harm to individuals’ and organizations’ lawful rights and interests, and so forth.
Article 24: Departments and units that perform personal information protection duties are to guide and urge online service providers to carry out key protections for personal information involved in social media, medical care, geo-positioning, and so forth, that could be exploited for cyberviolence. Where public security organs handle cases of cyberviolence crimes, they shall concurrently check the source of personal information used in the crime, and pursue the responsibility of the relevant persons and units in accordance with law.
Article 25: On the basis of their duties, the cybersecurity and informatization departments, in conjunction with relevant departments such as for public security, culture and tourism, radio and television, are to conduct oversight inspections of online service providers’ implementation of cyberviolence governance responsibilities.
Where the relevant departments carry out oversight inspections or collect evidence on the basis of their duties, the online service providers shall promptly provide necessary support and assistance.
Article 26: Public security organs receiving cases of victims suffering cyberviolence and facing threats to their physical safety shall promptly dispatch police and stop the related illegal activities, address it, and collect evidence in accordance with law.
Article 27: For false or misleading cyberviolence information that has a large transmission scope or large social harm, the relevant departments shall promptly carry out information disclosures and rumor clarification through government platforms, official websites, new media, and the like, to prevent the cyberviolence from expanding.
Chapter IV: Societal Governance
Article 28: Education departments shall guide schools to strengthen their publicity and education against cyberviolence, include countering cyberviolence in the curriculum, enhance students’ online literacy and awareness of the rule of law, and educate and guide students to consciously prevent and reject cyberviolence.
Where schools discover that minor students have suffered or carried out cyberviolence, they shall promptly stop it, employ preventative measures, carry out psychological crisis intervention, and promptly inform their guardians of the relevant circumstances.
Article 29: Minors’ guardians shall strengthen family education and guidance, increase their own online literacy, regulate their own internet usage, strengthen education, modeling, guidance, and oversight of minors’ internet usage, and guide minors to consciously prevent and reject cyberviolence.
Article 30: Relevant online industry associations shall strengthen industry self-discipline, draft online codes of conduct, carry out popular legal education outreach and practitioner trainings on cyberviolence, guide members to enhance their capacity to prevent and govern cyberviolence, and provide support for users who suffer cyberviolence.
Article 31: Organizations and individuals must not carry out cyberviolence through the following means:
(1) Falsely registering, or batch registering online accounts, illegally trading online accounts, producing fake public opinion hotspots, or manipulating key features such as trending topics or hot searches;
(2) Manipulating or using multiple online accounts for falsifying traffic, hijacking traffic, heating, or priming, by faking clicks, votes, lists, rankings, comments, or ratings;
(3) Illegally handling personal information that was disclosed by the individual or disclosed by other legal means;
(4) Using AI technologies such as generation, synthesis, or personalized recommendations to produce, reproduce, publish, or transmit cyberviolence information, or to carry out other cyberviolence;
(5) Other conduct prohibited by laws and administrative regulations.
Article 32: Organizations or individuals must not provide the following support and assistance to those that they know are carrying out cyberviolence:
(1) Providing technical support such as internet access, server hosting, network storage, or transmission of communications;
(2) Providing services such as traffic and funding, advertising, and promotion, and payment clearance;
(3) Illegally selling or providing personal information;
(4) Illegally selling, renting, or lending telephone cards, IoT cards, Internet accounts, and the like;
(5) Providing other acts of support and assistance for cyberviolence.
Article 33: Creators and operators of public internet user accounts that have a large influence must not use their influence to carry out, organize, or incite cyberviolence; shall strengthen management of comments, group information content, and so forth; and are to employ appropriate measures to prevent and stop cyberviolence.
Article 34: Where internet information content multi-channel distribution service providers [MCNs] discover that an internet user public account they have signed has carried out cyberviolence, they shall employ measures in accordance with laws and contract against the account that has broken the law or rules, such as alert notifications, requiring corrections within a set time, suspending monetization, ending the agreement, or notifying the platforms.
Where it is discovered that MCNs directly carried out cyberviolence or organized, incited, or assisted a signed public internet user account in carrying out cyberviolence, the online service providers shall employ measures in accordance with laws and contract to address the relevant organization and their signed account, such as alert notifications, requiring corrections in a set period of time, suspending monetization, limiting the provision of services, removing them from the platform, or placing them on a blacklist, and report the matter to the provincial-level cybersecurity and informatization department for their area.
Article 35: The state is to support social work service organizations and other social forces to provide victims of cyberviolence with the support and assistance they need, such as psychological intervention, legal consultation, legal aid, and family education guidance.
Article 36: Where risks of cyberviolence are discovered, all organizations and individuals have the right to make complaints or reports to the departments in charge or the online service provider. Departments and online service providers that receive complaints or reports shall promptly accept and address them.
Online service providers shall establish convenient, conspicuous, and effective channels for complaints and reports, disclose information on the methods for making complaints and reports, promptly accept and address complaints and reports involving cyberviolence, and notify the complainants or informers of the disposition outcome; and online service providers shall prioritize the acceptance and handling of complaints and reports involving minors, the elderly, and other such groups.
Chapter V: Judicial Protection
Article 37: Where parties have evidence showing that others are currently carrying out cyberviolence or will imminently carry out cyberviolence that harms their personality rights, that the online service providers have not yet employed the necessary measures, and that failing to stop it would cause a harm to their lawful rights and interests that would be difficult to repair, they may apply for an injunction against harm to personality rights to the basic-level people’s court for the applicant’s residence, the subject of the application’s residence, or the actual business location or the site of the harmful conduct, and the people’s court shall accept it.
Where parties are persons with limited or no civil capacity, or are unable to apply for an injunction to protect personality rights due to reasons such as coercion or intimidation, their guardians, close relatives, womens federations, disabled persons’ federations, residents' committees, villagers' committees, and so forth, may apply on their behalf.
The people’s courts are responsible for the enforcement of injunctions against harm of personality rights, the public security organs and relevant departments shall assist in enforcement.
Article 38: Where illegal conduct is suspected of being a crime, the relevant departments shall promptly transfer the case to the justice organs for criminal responsibility to be pursued in accordance with law. The justice organs shall promptly review and address transferred cases.
Where it is not necessary to pursue criminal responsibility or criminal punishment is waived, but an administrative punishment is to be given, the judicial organs shall promptly transfer the case to the relevant departments.
The relevant departments and justice organs shall strengthen their coordination and cooperation, establish and complete systems for transferring cases, strengthen connections for the transfer and receipt of evidence materials, improve mechanisms for reporting and sharing case handling information, coordinate the filing of cases, and assist in the collection of evidence.
Article 39: After public security organs receive reports of cyberviolence cases or cases are transferred by relevant departments, they shall promptly investigate to collect evidence or open a case for criminal investigation in accordance with relevant provisions, provide the victims of cyberviolence with the support and assistance they need, and report to the relevant departments in charge.
Where, in the course of handling cyberviolence cases, public security organs discover cases meeting the requirements for a private prosecution, they shall promptly inform the cyberviolence victims that they have the right to initiate a private prosecution in the people’s courts.
Article 40: Where public security administration punishments are not given in accordance with law, the public security organs may give a written cyberviolence warning to the organization or individuals carrying out cyberviolence in accordance with law. The written warning shall include content such as the perpetrator’s identification information, a recounting of the facts of the cyberviolence, a prohibition on the their carrying out cyberviolence, and the legal consequences for doing so.
Article 41: Where self-prosecution cases raised by the victims of cyberviolence meet the requirements for acceptance, the people’s courts shall immediately file the case. Where, upon review, the people's courts find that it will be difficult for the victims to gather evidence, they shall require public security organs to assist in accordance with law, and the public security organs shall cooperate.
Where, after the public security organs assist in collecting evidence, the requirements for accepting private prosecutions are reached, the people's court shall decide to file the case; where relevant evidence cannot be collected, the public security organs shall explain the situation to the people's court in writing.
Where after review of cases where victims initiated private prosecutions for online insult or defamation, the procuratorate finds that public prosecution procedures shall apply, they shall perform their legal supervision duties and notify the public security organs to open a case for investigation.
The procuratorate organs may lawfully support members of specific groups who have suffered cyberviolence, such as minors or persons with disabilities, in initiating litigation in the people’s courts.
Article 42: Where cyberviolence is suspected of being criminal insult or defamation, seriously impacting social order and the national interests, the procuratorate organs shall initiate a public prosecution in accordance with law.
Article 43: Where violations of this law cause large volumes of cyberviolence information to be transmitted or other serious situations, harming the national interest or societal public interest, the people’s procuratorates or state cybersecurity and informatization department is to determine that organizations that may lawfully initiate public interest litigation with the people’s courts.
Article 44: People’s courts hearing cases related to cyberviolence may consider cyberviolence warning letters, injunctions for the protection of personality rights, and the like, in determining the facts of the cyberviolence violations or crimes.
Article 45: In handling cyberviolence cases or related matters, the people’s courts, people’s procuratorates, public security organs, and relevant departments shall promptly notify the victims and their agents ad litem or family members that they have the right to apply for legal aid.
Article 46: In cyberviolence cases that have a high degree of public attention or a larger impact, the people’s courts, people’s procuratorates, and public security organs shall promptly disclose information on case progress, clarify the truth of the facts, and dispel any negative impact in accordance with law.
Chapter VI: Legal Responsibility
Article 47: Where online service providers violate articles 11 or 36 of this law, the relevant departments, such as for cybersecurity and information technology, telecommunications, and public security are to give warnings, order that corrections be made in a set period of time, and confiscate unlawful gains on the basis of their duties; where they refuse to make corrections or the circumstances are serious, they are to be given a fine of between 50,000 and 500,000, an ordered to suspend relevant operations, stop business for rectification, close websites or applications, revoke relevant business permits or business licenses, and give a fine of between 10,000 and 100,000 RMB to the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible persons.
Article 48: Where articles 13, 14, 19. or 34 of this Law are violated, the relevant departments are to order corrections, give warnings, confiscate unlawful gain, and may give a concurrent fine of between 100,000 and 1,000,000 RMB; Where corrections are refused or the circumstances are serious, a fine of between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 RMB is to be given, and they may be ordered to suspend relevant operations, suspend business for rectification, or cancel relevant business permits or business licenses.
Article 49: Where online service providers violate Articles 16, 17, 18, 20, or 21 of this Law, the relevant competent departments such as for cybersecurity and informatization shall order corrections, give warnings, or circulate criticisms on the basis of their duties, and may impose a fine of between 50,000 and 500,000 RMB, and may order the suspension of relevant operations, suspend business for rectification, close websites or applications, and revoke relevant business permits or licenses; where corrections are refused or the circumstances are serious, a fine of between 500,000 and 2,000,000 RMB may be given, or order suspension of relevant operations, suspend business for rectification, close websites or applications, revoke relevant business permits or business licenses, and fine the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible personnel between 50,000 and 200,000 RMB.
Where online service providers have any of the illegal conduct provided for in the preceding paragraph cause an especially serious impact or consequences, the relevant departments in charge are to impose a fine of between 2 million and 10 million RMB, order the suspension of relevant operations, suspend operations for rectification, close websites or applications, revoke relevant permits or business licenses, and give a fine of between 200,000 and 1,000,000 RMB to the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible personnel.
Article 50: Where articles 31 and 32 of this law are violated, punishment is to be given in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations. Where there are no relevant provisions in laws and administrative regulations, the departments for cybersecurity and information technology, telecommunications, public security, and other relevant departments are to order that corrections be made in a fixed period of time, and may give a concurrent fine of between 100,000 and 500,000 RMB; where corrections are refused or the circumstances are serious, a fine of between 500,000 and 2,000,000 RMB may be given, and they may be ordered to stope relevant operations or suspend business for rectification.
Those who organize, plan, incite, or instigate the commission of conduct in violation of Articles 31 or 32 of this Law are to be given heavier penalties in accordance with law.
Article 51: Where the producers or operators of public interent user accounts with a large influence violate article 33 of this law, the cybersecurity and information technology departments, and other relevant departments in charge are to give warnings, order that corrections be made, clear subscribed accounts, order restrictions on functions, suspend or limit monetization, suspend relevant services, close the account, or prohibit new registration, and may give a concurrent fine of between 100,000 and 500,000 RMB.
Article 52: Where schools violate article 28 of these measures, the education departments are to order corrections; where corrections are refused or the circumstances are serious, the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible persons are to given sanctions.
Article 53: Where it is discovered that minors’ guardians have violated article 29 of this Law by refusing or neglecting to perform family education responsibilities, or by illegally obstructing other guardians from carrying out family education, the residents' committees, villagers' committees, and womens federations for the areas where minors live, and the units to which the parents or other guardians of minors belong, as well units with close contact with minors such as primary and secondary schools and kindergartens, they shall criticize and educate them, admonish and stop them, and when necessary urge them to accept family education guidance.
Article 54: Where online service providers know or should know that online users are using their online services to carry out cyberviolence, and do not promptly employ the necessary measures or assist others in carrying out cyberviolence, they are to bear joint and several responsibility with those internet users in accordance with law.
Article 55: Where there is illegal conduct that violates this law and there are entries into the List of Seriously Untrustworthy Entities for the Internet in accordance with laws, administrative regulations, and relevant state provisions, the relevant departments in charge may implement penalties for untrustworthiness, employing penalty measures in accordance with laws and regulations such as prohibiting registering user accounts or restricting user functions for a specified period or within a specified range, or employing other restrictions or prohibitions on their engaging in online services.
Article 56: Where state workers with duties for countering cyberviolence abuse their authority, derelict their duty, or twist the law for personal gain, or have other conduct violating the provisions of this law, they are to be given sanctions in accordance with law. Where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is to be pursued in accordance with law.
Article 57: Organizations and individuals that organize, plan, incite, or instigate cyberviolence, or that provide relevant assistance for cyberviolence, and cause serious harm to others, are to bear civil responsibility in accordance with the “Civil Code of the PRC,” except where they bear criminal or administrative responsibility in accordance with law.
Where cyberviolence infringement of a natural person’s rights and interests in their persons causes serious mental harm, the persons infringed upon may demand compensation for mental harm.
Article 58: Where provisions of this Law are violated, constituting a violation of public security management, public security administrative sanctions are given in accordance with law; where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law.
Chapter VII: Supplemental Provisions
Article 59: This Law does not apply to those who lawfully report or expose others' violations and crimes online or to the implementation of public opinion oversight.
Article 60: This Law shall take effect on xx-xx-xxxx.
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