New rules to improve Internet searches
Print Edition
CHINA’S Internet regulator has published new rules covering search engines, ordering providers to ensure objective, fair and authoritative search results.
Providers must remove any illegal content, all paid-for search results must be labeled clearly and checks on advertisers should be improved, the Cyberspace Administration of China said. There should also be a limit on the number of paid-for results on a page, it said.
The new rules also ban the practice of blocking negative comment on advertisers.
The regulator’s move came after Baidu was criticized for influencing a cancer patient’s choice of treatment by presenting misguiding medical information.
Wei Zexi, 22, died after a controversial cancer treatment at a Beijing hospital the Wei family had found using Baidu.
“Search service providers should be aware of their social responsibility ... they must provide objective, fair and authoritative search results,” the regulator said in a statement.
Paid listings were not distinguishable from normal search results, which could mislead users, the administration said.
Some medical organizations which paid for search results were unqualified or had forged certificates, it said.
“The content of some search results was found to be rumors, pornographic, violent or related to terrorism,” it added.
Earlier this month, the administration asked Baidu to improve its paid-for listings model and to rank search results mainly according to credibility.
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