Chinese Government Imposes Stringent Internet Censorship

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has issued a series of new regulations for online censorship. In addition to requiring domestic online platforms to strictly verify the identities of users since August 1st, it also issued “Measures on Security Assessment of the Cross-Border Transfer of Personal Information” to strictly control the cross-border flow of data. It launched a network security review on Communist China’s most important academic platform, “China National Knowledge Infrastructure” (CNKI).

The “Provisions on the Administration of Account Names of Internet Users” issued by the CAC will come into effect on August 1st. When an individual user registers and uses an account, if it contains occupational information, it should be consistent with the person’s career information, and the IP address will also be revealed. Some professional account registrations require documents for verification.The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) not only strictly controls registered accounts but also does not let go of online postings. In the past, internet users in Communist China used typos, homophones, or similar characters, numbers, and symbols to communicate sensitive topics, commonly known as “beating around the bush” to avoid censorship, but now they are expressly banned.The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) explained the reason for the new regulations. As of October 2021, the number of internet users in Communist China had reached 1.032 billion, and the internet penetration rate had reached 73.0%. However, behaviors such as misusing accounts to spread false information often occur, endangering national security and violating citizens’ legitimate rights and interests.

Also, in the name of national security, the CAC issued the “Measures on Security Assessment of the Cross-Border Transfer of Personal Information” on July 7th, requiring critical information infrastructure operators to submit declarations and conduct security assessments before providing users’ personal information and important data overseas.