China: Opened consultation on draft Regulations for the Management of Proximity-Based Ad Hoc Network Information Services

On 6 June 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) opened a consultation on the draft Regulations for the Management of Proximity-Based Ad Hoc Network Information Services until 6 July 2023. The Regulations would apply to proximity-based information technologies such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi which can be used for information and content sharing. Under the draft Regulations, proximity-based networking information service providers are required to prevent and address the dissemination of harmful information and report illegal content to the competent authorities while users are prohibited from sharing illegal content and engaging in other harmful interference. Service providers are required to provide a clear device-coupling confirmation function between publishers and recipients of information and to obtain their consent before sharing content. Service providers are also required to obtain authentic identity information of users and adopt emergency plans for network security incidents.