China Strengthens Online Controls Ahead of Party Congress... Manages 'Blacklist' of Illegal Comments

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] China, ahead of the 20th Party Congress that will decide President Xi Jinping's third term, has announced plans to strengthen control over comments on internet bulletin boards.

According to China's state-run news agency Xinhua on the 19th, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) recently released a draft of the "Internet Comment Service Management Regulations," which includes measures such as real-name management of comments and blacklist management of illegal comment writers.

According to the draft, service providers must clearly define the responsibilities of comment management entities and register users through a strict identity verification process. It also specifies establishing a tiered management system to evaluate users' comments and segment the range of available services accordingly.

In particular, users who have lost trust due to legal violations are to be included on a blacklist, preventing them from using comment services. Even if blacklisted individuals create new accounts through re-registration, they will still be prohibited from posting comments.

Additionally, the draft states that service providers and users must not seek illegal benefits or infringe upon others' legitimate rights and interests through posting, deleting, recommending, or other methods.

The Global Times, a sister publication of the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper People's Daily, reported that the purpose of this announcement is to ensure users can use internet bulletin boards in accordance with the law. However, the general analysis is that this is a prelude to further strengthening internet control.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.