China’s internet watchdog pushes for deeper engagement with internet platforms in 2022 to clean, control online content

The Cyberspace Administration of China called on internet platform operators to improve online community rules and tighten control over certain user groups

Increased regulatory scrutiny of these operators last year resulted in effective curbs against the ‘chaos’ of celebrity fan culture, fake news and other issues online

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The Cyberspace Administration of China has called on internet platform operators to establish strong content review teams and increase training for these employees. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 10:30am, 12 Mar 2022

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) pledges to deepen efforts to monitor, review and clean up online content in the world’s biggest internet market this year, following an aggressive campaign in 2021 to remove information that the state deems harmful or inappropriate.

Increased regulatory scrutiny of internet platforms last year resulted in effective curbs against the “chaos” of celebrity fan culture, fake news and other issues online, according to CAC vice-minister Sheng Ronghua, in a statement published by the internet watchdog on Thursday.

That followed Sheng’s visit on Wednesday to the offices of Chinese microblogging service Sina Weibo, where he also met representatives from other internet companies including Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings, Baidu, Kuaishou Technology, Meituan and Zhihu, according to the CAC statement. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

The CAC called on internet platform operators to establish strong content review teams and increase training for these employees. In addition, operators are required by the regulator to make necessary modifications to their online products related to self-discipline and rectification. These are designed to improve online community rules as well as strengthen control over certain user groups and organisations.

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How China censors the internet

The CAC-led meeting comes months after the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council released internally a set of guidelines for building a “cyberspace civilisation”. It urges all levels of government to bring ideology, culture, moral standards and online behaviour under control, according to a summary published by state-run news outlet Xinhua.

The internet watchdog’s latest initiative reflects Beijing’s intention to keep Chinese internet companies under scrutiny, while directing them to root out content that fails to fit the values that the government endorses.