China Publishes Revised Draft of Internet Information Service Management Regulations, First Major Overhaul in Over 20 Years

en.Wedoany.com Reported - China has published the "Internet Information Service Management Regulations (Revised Draft for Comments)," systematically revising the original regulations that have been in effect for over 20 years, in response to governance challenges posed by platform economy and generative artificial intelligence in the digital economy era.

Since the introduction of the 2000 edition of the "Internet Information Service Management Regulations" (State Council Order No. 292), China's internet industry has evolved from early portal websites and one-way text and image dissemination to a new stage of multimodal interaction, AI-generated content, and full-platform operations. Market entities have diversified into various forms, including general information service providers, comprehensive traffic platforms, and intelligent information service providers, with risk transmission pathways becoming more covert and complex. The regulatory framework, oversight targets, and compliance requirements of the original regulations are no longer adequate for the current industrial environment. The revised draft significantly expands the institutional content based on the original 27 articles, restructuring the entire chain of rules, including entity classification, access procedures, and operational standards.

Targeting the characteristics of cyberspace—rapid dissemination, wide reach, and strong anonymity—as well as new risks such as manipulated reviews and ratings, traffic fraud, unconstrained algorithm recommendations, misleading AI-generated content, and internet addiction among minors, the revised draft balances the dual goals of security and development. It specifies a list of nine categories of prohibited negative information and, based on the type of business entity, layers the primary responsibilities of general internet information service providers, platform information service providers, and intelligent algorithm service providers. These responsibilities cover security defenses including content review, account management, algorithm control, practitioner conduct standards, and protection of special groups' rights and interests.

In terms of global internet governance trends, international bodies such as the United Nations and APEC continue to focus on human-computer interaction and online content governance. Europe and the United States have also introduced regulations such as the Digital Services Act and the Artificial Intelligence Act, but overseas models generally emphasize heavy fines. This revision in China, grounded in the national context of a large-scale digital industry, diverse business forms, and a massive internet user base, aims to build a multi-stakeholder collaborative governance framework involving government regulation, industry self-discipline, and social oversight, balancing security constraints with industrial inclusiveness.

This revision is positioned as a systematic overhaul of the "Internet Information Service Management Regulations" since its implementation over two decades ago, establishing an institutional framework covering both traditional business models and new AI services. In the future, through multi-party collaboration in cyberspace, while maintaining a firm security bottom line, it will create an environment for innovative industry development and promote the standardized, healthy, and sustainable growth of internet information services.