Provisions on the Management of Internet Post Comments Services

Title: Provisions on the Management of Internet Post Comments Services
Promulgating Entities: Cybersecurity Administration
Reference number: 
Promulgation Date: 2017-8-25
Expiration date: 
Source of text: http://media.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0825/c14677-29495044.html全

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 Manage Internet Content", so as to preserve national security and the public interest, to standardize Internet post comments services, and protect the lawful rights and interests of citizens, legal persons, and other organizations.

Article 2: Those who provide 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, interactive broadcast platforms, and other broadcast platforms of a news and public opinion nature with 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, livestream commentary, and so forth.

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

All levels’ Internet information offices shall establish and complete supervision and management systems that integrate daily supervision and inspection and regular inspections, and lawfully regulate post comment activity on all kinds of broadcast platform.

Article 4: Where post comment service providers provide new products, applications, or functions for post comments related to Internet news information services, they shall report to the State, provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality Internet information offices to conduct a security assessment.

Article 5: Post comment service providers shall strictly put in place entity responsibility, and lawfully perform the following obligations:

(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 protecting user information; and the collection and use of users' personal information shall abide by the principles of legality, propriety and necessity; make public rules for collection and use, explicitly stating the purposes, means, and scope for collecting or using information, and obtaining the consent of the person whose data is gathered.

(3) Where post comment services are provided for news information, a system of prior review before publication shall be established.

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

(5) establish and complete information security systems for the review and management, real time inspection, and emergency handling and response for post comments, to promptly discover and handle unlawful information, and report it to the competent departments.

(6) Develop information security protection and management techniques for post comments, innovate methods of managing post comments, research and develop the use of anti-spam systems, to increase capacity to dispose of spam information; promptly discover risks such as security deficits or leaks in post comment services, employ remedial measures, and report them to the competent departments.

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

(8) Cooperate with supervision and inspection efforts conducted by the competent departments, and provide necessary technological, material, and data support.

Article 6: Post comment service providers shall sign an agreement with registered users, clarifying details of service and management of post comments,perform obligations to inform as provided by laws and regulations, and targeted education on online civility.

Post comment service users shall strictly discipline themselves, commit to comply with laws and regulations, respect public order and good morals, and must not publish information content that is prohibited by laws, regulations, or relevant State provisions.

Article 7: Post comment service providers and their staffs must not interfere with public opinion by employing methods such as selective deletion or recommendation of post comments so as to obtain improper benefit or on the basis of mistaken value orientations.

Post comment service providers and users must not use software, employment agencies, personnel,or other methods to disseminate information, disrupting the normal order of post comments, and misguiding public opinion.

Article 8: Post comment service providers shall promptly employ measures such as notices, refusing publication, deleting information, restricting functions, pausing updates, through closing accounts, and save relevant records for information content in violation of laws, regulations, and relevant state provisions.

Article 9: 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 provision of services to those entered onto the black list, and prohibiting them from using methods such as new registration to use post comment services.

The State and provincial, autonomous region or directly governed municipality Internet information offices shall establish credit files and a trust-breaking blacklist management systems for post comment services, and regularly conduct credit assessments of post comment service providers.

Article 10: Post comment service providers shall establish and complete systems for public complaints and reports on illegal information, subject fast and convenient portals for complaints and reports, and promptly accept and handle complaints and reports. 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 11: Where post comment service providers information security management responsibilities are not sufficiently implemented, or where larger security risks exist or security incidents occur, the State or provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality internet information offices shall promptly give them a talking to; post comment service providers shall employ measures, make corrections, and eliminate dangers as required.

Article 12: Internet post comment 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.