China: State Administration for Market Regulation issued notice on key tasks for rectifying Internet advertising market order

On 20 April 2026, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) issued a notice on key tasks for rectifying the Internet advertising market order. The notice announced a six-month campaign to address the internet advertising market order, covering platform enterprises, advertisers, publishers, and endorsers across online and live-stream channels. The campaign identifies six priority areas, including political content guidance, live-stream e-commerce advertising, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated advertising, pop-up advertising, “matrix-style” advertising through networks of rented self-media accounts, and platform liability for facilitating illegal advertisements. Platforms are required to proactively intercept non-compliant content, label AI-generated advertisements, and ensure pop-ups can be closed with a single click, while authorities may impose heavier penalties for serious or repeat violations. Provincial regulators are instructed to coordinate cross-jurisdictional enforcement and to ensure that operators, publishers, and endorsers are held to account.