China watchdog cleans, controls cyberspace with new regulations

China’s cyberspace regulator said on Thursday its campaign to “clean up” the country’s cyberspace had achieved positive results, and that “online chaos” on the country’s internet platforms had been effectively curbed.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement that it had made those comments during a meeting it held with representatives from platforms including Sina Weibo, Tencent Holdings, Alibaba Group, Baidu, Kuaishou, Meituan and Zhihu.

Chinese regulators launched the campaign last year with a key focus on cleaning up what they described as a “chaotic” celebrity fan culture.

They barred platforms from publishing lists of popular celebrities and ordered that fan groups be regulated. They also instructed firms to practise self-discipline and better oversee content on their platforms.

During the meeting, which was held on Wednesday, CAC Vice Minister Sheng Ronghua, said the campaign, going into 2022, should be “specialised, strict and practical”, focusing on prominent online problems with a view to taking pragmatic measures.

The comments from the CAC come after what has been a bruising year for the once-freewheeling tech giants, which have been heavily targeted by regulators as part of a campaign to exert more control over swathes of the economy after years of runaway growth.

Investors have been watching closely for clues on whether the worst is over, given how the crackdown has roiled global markets and technology stocks over the past year. CNA