China: Cyberspace Administration closes consultation on Law on Prevention and Control of Cybercrime including content moderation regulation

On 2 March 2026, the Cyberspace Administration closes the consultation on the Law on Prevention and Control of Cybercrime, including content moderation regulation. The legislation prohibits the publication of false information and mandates that service providers across various sectors (including internet access, advertising, and content distribution) monitor, discover, and block such information. It also prohibits specific harmful acts against minors conducted via the internet, including but not limited to cyberbullying and handling child sexual abuse material. Search engines must monitor, prevent, block, and dispose of illegal information. E-commerce trading platforms must block sale of prohibited items. Information search providers must cap and clearly label paid result pages. Providers of online games, blockchain, and artificial intelligence (AI) services must monitor, prevent, and block the distribution of illegal information. AI service providers must specifically monitor and prevent rumours. Internet information service providers (e.g. social media, search engines) and mobile smart terminal producers must mark AI-generated content. The names of websites and applications may not contain illegal information, imitations of government organisations, or other names deemed inappropriate by the relevant authorities. The government reserves the right to freeze property of foreign institutions that disseminate false information harming the security of China. Any organisation that provides technical support to others disseminating illegal information is subject to fines of 1-10 times the unlawful gains, or a fine of not more than RMB 500’000 if gains are under RMB 50’000. Telecommunications, financial, internet, or other service providers who fail to discover or block illegal information or who implement illegal naming conventions are subject to corrections and fines between RMB 50’000 and RMB 5 million in serious cases. Violations that infringe upon the lawful rights of minors are punishable by fines up to RMB 500’000 and detention for up to 15 days.