Xinjiang Regulations on Preventing and Punishing the Online transmission of false information

"Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Regulations on Control and Punishment of Online Transmission of False Information"

(Adopted at the 25th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth People's Congress for the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on December 1, 2016.

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Standing Committee of the 12th People's Congress

Notice

(No. 32）

The "Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Regulations on Control and Punishment of Online Transmission of False Information" were adopted at the 25th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 12th People's Congress for the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on December 1, 2016. To take effect on December 10, 2016.

Notice is hereby given.

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Standing Committee of the People's Congress, December 1, 2016

Article 1: These Regulations are formulated on the basis of relevant laws and regulations, together with actual conditions in the autonomous region, so as to regulate broadcasting order on information networks, such as the internet and mobile phones, in the autonomous region; to prevent and punish unlawful and criminal conduct of false information disrupting social order; and to protect the lawful rights and interests of citizens, legal persons, and other organizations. l

Article 2: These Regulations apply to the prevention and punishment of acts of transmitting false information on networks within the administrative area of the autonomous region.

Article 3: "Online Transmission of False Information," as used in these Regulations, refers to acts using text, images, audio or video clips, and other such forms, to fabricate and transmit false information on networks, or intentionally transmitting information that is clearly known to be false on the networks, disrupting social order.

Article 4: The autonomous region's information networks service providers and users of businesses such as websites, applications and programs, instant messenger tools, and mobile text messengers, respect the Constitution and laws, respect social order, and respect social morality; and must not endanger network security, must not use the networks to engage in activities such as endangering national security, fabricating and transmitting false information to disrupt social order, as well as harming the honor, privacy, and other lawful rights and interests of others.

Article 5: The autonomous region's people's government shall strengthen network information security efforts. The autonomous region's departments for network information, communications, public security, and other competent departments, have specific responsibility for the work of preventing and punishing online transmission of false information, and strengthening oversight and management of information networks service providers and users.

Article 6: All units and individuals have an obligation to assist and cooperate with relevant departments in preventing and punishing the online transmission of false information, and where discovering false information on networks, shall promptly report it to the departments for networks, communications, public security, or other such departments.

Article 7: While engaging in internet information services, in accordance with the principle that the organizer is responsible, information network service providers bear entity responsibility for management, employ technological protective measures for network security, and ensure information security.

Internet information services must not be provided without filings or permits.

Article 8: Use in the autonomous region of internet web sites, application programs, forums, blogs, microblogs, instant messaging tools, search engines, or streaming platforms; as well as applications that have news and public opinion, or social mobilization functions; to provide the public with news information editing, publication, or reprinting services; as well as providing platforms for the release of news information; shall obtain internet news information service permits.

Article 9: Information network service providers shall establish content review systems and put in place technological security protection measures; shall accept societal supervision, clear network channels for accepting reports, and promptly handle reports from the public on illegal activity and negative information.

Article 10: Information network service providers should post a service agreement on webpages where users post comments and leave messages, clearly indicating that posts must not post and spread rumors, or content that disrupts social order or undermines social stability, or content forbidden by laws and regulations.

Article 11: Internet search service providers must not use methods such as links, summaries, snapshots, associated words, related searches, or recommendations to provide false information and other information prohibited by laws or regulations.

Article 12: When information network service providers providing information network users with information publishing and instant messaging services sign agreements or confirm the provision of services with information network users, they shall request the users provide their truthful identification information. Where information network users do not provide truthful identification information, information network service providers must not provide them with the relevant services.

Article 13: Information network service providers and information network users must not use the networks to fabricate, product, reproduce, publish, or transmit false or harmful information with the following content:

（1） endangering national security, national honor, or national interests;

(2) Inciting subversion of state power, or overthrow of the socialist system;

(3) inciting separatism and undermining national unity;

(4) Promoting religious fanaticism, undermining religious harmony;

(5) Promoting terrorism and extremism;

(6) Promoting ethnic hatred or ethnic discrimination;

(7) Transmitting false dangers, disasters, epidemics, or alerts;

(8) Transmitting bomb threats, biological threats, radioactive threats, or other such terrorist information;

(9) Transmitting violent or pornographic information;

(10) violating others' reputations, privacy, intellectual property rights, and other lawful rights and interests, and so forth;

(11) Other content prohibited by laws and regulations.

Article 14: Where information network service providers discover the online transmission of false information, they shall immediately stop the transmission, save the relevant records, delete the relevant information, and promptly report it to the internet information, communications, public security, or other relevant departments.

Article 15: When information network users register account names and set up profiles and photos, they must not use this to transmit false information or disrupt economic and social order.

Article 16: Where information network service providers that have not obtained the relevant permits engage in for profit network information services, or provide services beyond the permitted programs, the autonomous regions' communications departments are to order corrections be made within a fixed period of time, and where there are unlawful gains, the confiscation of unlawful gains, and are to give a fine of between 3 and 5 times the value of the unlawful gains; where the circumstances are serious, the website is to be ordered closed.

Where these Regulations are violated by not performing filing formalities or providing services beyond the program in the filings, the autonomous region's departments for communications are to order corrections be made within a certain time; where the corrections are refused, the website is to be closed.

Article 17: Where information network service providers have not put in place information security management entity responsibility, have not completed systems for content review, or have not put technological security protections in place, the autonomous region's network information departments are to order corrections and give warnings, and may give concurrent fines of up to 30,000 RMB. Where the circumstances are serious, the autonomous region departments for network information and communications are to shut down the websites and where corrections are refused, revoke their qualifications for providing information network services.

Article 18: Where information network service providers fail to stop the transmission of information that laws of administrative regulations prohibit the publication or transmission of, fail to employ disposition measures such as deletion, or fail to preserve relevant records, the autonomous region network information departments and other competent departments are to order corrections, give warnings, and confiscate unlawful gains; where corrections are refused or circumstances are serious, fines between RMB 100,000 and 500,000 are given, and the autonomous region network information, communications and other such departments may order a temporary suspension of operations, a suspension of business for corrections, or closing down of websites; and fine persons who are directly in charge and other directly responsible personnel between RMB 100,000 and 150,000.

Article 19: Where in the course of efforts to prevent and punish false online information, the responsible persons or other staff of departments for network information, communications, public security, derelict their duties, abuse their powers, twist the law for personal gain, or use their office to facilitate extortion or acceptance of others assets, and the matter constitutes a crime, criminal liability will be prosecuted according to the law; where a crime is not constituted, the persons in charge and other directly responsible personnel are to be given administrative sanctions in accordance with law.

Article 20: Follow the relevant laws and regulations to give punishments for other conduct that violates these provisions and should be punished.

Article 21: These Regulations shall become effective on December 10, 2016.