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Maximum fines over content of tech firms
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CHINA’S cyber watchdog has handed down maximum penalties to several of the country’s top tech firms, including Tencent Holdings Ltd, Baidu Inc and Weibo Corp, for failing to properly manage online content.
Notices posted by the Cyberspace Administration of China yesterday said the firms would receive the “maximum penalty” for failing to remove fake news and pornography as well as content that “incites ethic tension” and “threatens social order.”
It is the first time the administration has levied maximum fines against tech firms under a law introduced in June.
“The Internet does not operate outside of the law. The CAC will seriously implement the new cyber security law and other regulations to increase territorial supervision and enforcement efforts regarding the Internet,” it said.
The notices did not detail the exact sum of the penalties, but under rules cited in the notice individuals in charge of platforms and others directly involved face a maximum penalty of 100,000 yuan (US$15,110) each.
The law also stipulates that platforms can have their licenses revoked and their services suspended for failing to comply.
The measures are the result of an investigation launched last month, and target the country’s most popular social media services, including Tencent’s WeChat and Weibo’s microblogging service, whose combined registered users exceed 1 billion.
Earlier this month, the watchdog also introduced regulations that require messaging apps to create credit scores that can be lowered to punish and restrict users who post offensive content. The rules, which take effect on October 8, also make users legally liable for content deemed illegal.
In a recent notice the administration said illegal content includes articles that “misinterpret government policy,” “twist the history of the Chinese Communist Party” and “flaunt excessive wealth.”
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