Provisions on the Management of Internet Forum Community Services

Title: Provisions on the Management of Internet Forum Community Services
Promulgating Entities: Cybersecurity Administration
Reference number: 
Promulgation Date: 2017-8-25
Expiration date: 
Source of text: http://www.cac.gov.cn/2017-08/25/c_1121541921.htm

Cybersecurity Administration

Article 1: These Provisions are formulated on the basis of the "Cybersecurity Law of the P.R.C."and the“State Council's Notification of Authorization of the State Internet Information Office to be Responsible for Efforts to promote the healthy and orderly development of the internet forum community industry, so as to standardize Internet forum community services, stimulate the healthy and orderly development of Internet forum community services, protect the lawful rights and interests of citizens, legal persons, and other organizations, safeguard national security and the public interest.

Article 2: These Rules apply to the conduct of Internet forum communities within the mainland territory of the People’s Republic of China.

Internet forum community services as used in these Provisions refers to forums, message boards, communities and other forms of services on the internet that provide users with interactive information publication community platforms.

Article 3: The State Internet Information Office is responsible for supervision, management, and law enforcement efforts on Internet forum communities nationwide. Local internet information offices are responsible for supervision, management and law enforcement efforts for Internet forum communities within that administrative region and on the basis of their duties.

Article 4: Internet forum community service industry organizations are encouraged establish and complete sytems for self-discipline in the industry and industry norms, to guide Internet forum community service providers to establish and complete industry regulation, to urge Internet forum community service providers to provide services and accept social supervision in accordance with law, and to raise the professional caliber of personnel engaged in Internet forum community services.

Article 5: Internet forum community service providers shall implement entity liability; shall establish and complete information security management systems such as for information reviews, realtime public information inspections, emergency responses and protection of personal information; and shall possess safe and controllable precautionary measures, and appoint specialized personal corresponding to the scope and model of services, so as to provide necessary technical support to relevant departments in the performance of their duties.

Article 6: Internet forum community service providers must not use Internet forum community services to publish or transmit information prohibited by laws, regulations, and relevant State provisions.

Internet forum community service providers shall sign an agreement with users clarifying that the users must not use the Internet forum coummity services to publish or transmit information prohibited by laws, regulations, and relevant State provisions, and where the circumstances are serious, the service providers are to block or shut down the relevant accounts or boards; and claifying that founders and administrators of forum community boards shall perform obligations corresponding to their powers,and where they violate legal provisions or those of the agreement or do not adequately perform obligations, the service providers shall limit or revoke their management powers in accordance with law or contract, or directly block or shut down the relevant accounts or boards.

Article 7: Internet forum community service providers shall strengthen management of their users publication of information, and where they discover that information prohibited by laws, regulations or relevant national provisions is contained therein, they shall immediately stop the transmission of that information and employ measure as deletion to handle it, storing relevant records and promptly reporting it to the State or local Internet information offices.

Article 8: Internet forum community service providers shall follow the principle of 'real names behind the scenes, but using whatever name you please up front", requiring users to go through identity information verification before registering accounts, and carry out identity information recording and periodic verification for the originators and administrators of boards. Where users do not provide truthful identification information, internet forum community service providers must not provide them with information publication services.

Internet forum community service providers shall strengthen review and management of the registration of fake user identity information, board names, and summaries; and must not allow the appearance of content prohibited by laws, regulations, or relevant State provisions.

Internet forum community service providers shall protect users identification information, and must not disclose, alter, or destroy it, and must not unlawfully sell it or unlawfully provide it to others.

Article 9: Internet forum community service providers and their employees may not seek improper benefits through the publication, reprinting or deleting information, or interfering with search results, interfering with presentation sequences on dissemination platforms and other such methods.

Article 10: Internet forum community service providers carrying out business and service activities must follow the laws and administrative regulations, obey social mores and obey commercial ethics, be honest and credible, and bear social responsibility.

Article 11: Internet forum community service providers shall establish and complete systems for public complaints and reports, placing the method for complaints and reporting in a conspicuous position, actively accept public supervision, promptly handle public reports and complaints. State and local Internet information offices are to conduct supervision and inspections of the situation of accepting reports, on the basis of their duties.

Article 12: Internet forum community service providers' violations of these provisions will be handled by the relevant departments in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations.

Article 13: These Provisions take effect on October 1, 2017.