Monthlong online safety campaign kicks off

The Cyberspace Administration of China announced on Sunday a one-month special campaign to address issues undermining the "online ecosystem", including the spread of false information and promotion of vulgar content, in an effort to foster a "joyous and harmonious" online experience during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday.

The eight-day holiday begins on Jan 28.

The campaign that kicked off on Sunday will focus on handling six key issues, including inciting extreme opposition, fabricating false information, promoting vulgar content, advocating negative culture and infringing on consumer rights, the CAC said in a news release.

Efforts to tackle fabricated information will target online users impersonating delivery workers, couriers and other groups to stage false content. The campaign will also crack down on rumors related to public policies, social issues, Spring Festival travel and emergencies. The use of AI tools to create false images or misleading social topics related to the holiday is also a focus, as such behavior misleads internet users and causes harm, the CAC said.

The campaign will address vulgar content, including exploitative hype around celebrity gossip, internet celebrity scandals and emotionally damaging rumors. Livestreams promoting vulgarity, self-destructive tendencies, indecent flirtation or harassment of passersby will also face scrutiny.

Online behavior promoting negative cultural practices such as flaunting wealth or waste under the guise of Spring Festival customs will be targeted.

The holiday is a peak period for e-commerce platforms offering promotions. The CAC also highlighted consumer rights concerns. Practices such as differentiated pricing for identical goods through algorithms in sectors such as travel, online shopping and food delivery, as well as misleading commercial promotions during livestreaming sessions, will be monitored.

Key websites and platforms will be required to establish specialized task forces to strengthen content review management. The CAC called for stricter regulation of algorithm-based content recommendations, including hot search lists, trending recommendations, information feeds and comment sections. Platforms are prohibited from using algorithms to promote illegal or harmful content.

Websites and platforms found to have severe issues will face strict penalties, and typical cases of violations will be made public, the CAC said.