Update | China launches crackdown on false internet advertising after outcry over student’s cancer death
Wei Zexi died after undergoing experimental treatment that was given a high listing on the search engine Baidu in exchange for cash
China is to crack down on false and misleading internet advertising after the outcry caused by the death of a student who was given an experimental cancer treatment after searching for cures online.
The campaign, which will run to November, is part of an action plan announced yesterday by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to boost the protection of consumer rights.
The administration urged all levels of industry and commerce to step up monitoring and crack down on false online adverts.
Qihoo 360 stops accepting medical advertisements in wake of Baidu probe
The plan will tackle the sale of fake goods, pyramid marketing schemes and rumour spreading.
The death last month of Wei Zexi, 21, a computer science student from Shaanxi province, sparked an outcry.
He received a treatment at the No 2 Hospital of the Beijing Armed Police Corps that many doctors say is unproven. The treatment was outsourced to a provider that paid to have its promotional material placed prominently in searches on Baidu.
Baidu is China’s biggest internet search engine company and it faces a separate inquiry over its prominent listing of paid-for medical advertisements.
The industry and commerce department in the Haidian district of Beijing said it was investigating whether Baidu had breached advertising laws, The Beijing News reported.