China's Internet regulator, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission (CAC), has launched a two-month special rectification campaign focused on cleaning up the online ecology, aiming to combat malicious speech, rumor-mongering and false information. The campaign mainly targets local information content, focusing on rectifying five major problems, including online hostility, online rumors, vulgar content, illegal activities in the same city and online water army services.

Focus on the comprehensive rectification of local information content

On October 31, the CAC announced through its WeChat public account "Cyberspace China" that the campaign is called "Clear and Bright·City Section Information Content Problem Rectification". The campaign plans to conduct centralized governance of local information sections (i.e. discussion platforms related to the user's region) across the country, requiring major online platforms to take responsibility for content management and actively create a healthy online ecology.

The rectification covers a wide range of local information content, including social media, short videos, live broadcasts, information, e-commerce, search engines, group buying reviews, dating, map navigation, travel, local life services, weather calendars, sports and health. In addition, various mobile applications that provide local services based on geographic positioning are also within the scope of rectification.

Rectification of five types of problems: Focus on combating online hostility and spreading rumors

According to the announcement of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Office of the Communist Party of China, the first of the five major problems in this special rectification is "online hostility". Specifically, online hostility refers to some users maliciously criticizing, attacking, smearing, and even stigmatizing specific groups or regions on local hot topics (such as housing, medical care, education, food safety, etc.) on social platforms or discussion forums, promoting negative and panic emotions and provoking social confrontation. Such remarks sometimes spread regional prejudice by labeling extreme events and maliciously exaggerating disasters, thereby exacerbating confrontation between groups. The head of the Cyberspace Affairs Office pointed out that the spread of these negative emotions and extreme remarks destroyed the harmonious online environment, so they will be the primary target of rectification.

The spread of "online rumors and false information" is also one of the key points of rectification. Such rumors usually involve public policies and social livelihood areas, with the intention of creating false information to cause public panic. Rumors include fabricating sudden disasters, falsifying the progress of events, spreading conspiracy theories, or impersonating people related to the events to gain the attention of netizens. The announcement of the Cyberspace Administration of China specifically pointed out that those who fabricate tragic stories, create tragic characters and win the sympathy of netizens are also within the scope of the crackdown.

Purify content: rectify vulgar information and divert illegal activities

In terms of content, this action will also crack down on the spread of "vulgar and unhealthy information", especially content that is inappropriate for teenagers or other vulnerable groups on social platforms such as short videos. The Cyberspace Administration of China stated that it will focus on cracking down on such content through various regulatory measures to provide users with a healthier online environment.

In addition, the Cyberspace Administration of China particularly emphasized the cleanup of illegal activities that use local information to divert traffic. Some local information on online platforms, especially those involving part-time recruitment and advertising content, are sometimes used to divert traffic for illegal activities, and even attract users by promoting criminal means or illegal services. To this end, the Cyberspace Administration of China will strengthen review to ensure that the content of local information does not encourage illegal behavior.

Crack down on online water army: rectify false ranking and praise behaviors

Online water army, that is, the behavior of creating false popularity or praise by falsifying data, brushing rankings, etc., is also the focus of this action. False comments not only affect users' true feelings about products or content, but also affect the credibility of the platform. In order to curb such phenomena, the Cyberspace Administration of China will focus on rectifying activities such as order-brushing tasks, praise operations, and batch rankings. The Cyberspace Administration of China emphasized that the use of part-time recruitment or "brushing orders to make money" and other means to attract netizens to participate in the creation of false traffic will also be strictly cracked down.

Long-term and regulatory trends in network ecological rectification

This special operation is one of the many network rectification actions carried out by the Chinese government in recent years. As early as the beginning of this month, the Cyberspace Administration of China Central Committee rectified the "black words" and bad stalks on the Internet involving public policies, social livelihood and other fields, and cleaned up military-related self-media accounts. On October 3, the China Cyberspace Administration of China WeChat public account also released a three-month "Clear and Bright·Rectify Illegal Internet News and Information Services" campaign to crack down on five types of illegal behaviors, including news fraud, and further strengthen the management of online content.

In addition, in July this year, the Cyberspace Administration of China also launched a special rectification campaign to focus on cleaning up content that is harmful to children. This series of actions reflects the Chinese government's gradual strengthening and deepening of Internet content management, with targets covering many fields from Internet celebrities to e-commerce and games, striving to build an online ecology that conforms to official values and aesthetic standards.

Challenges and impacts of creating a "clear and bright" cyberspace

The Chinese government continues to strengthen its efforts in Internet content governance and constantly rectify the Internet environment, especially focusing on cracking down on content and behaviors that violate national laws or social morality. Through this special campaign, the Cyberspace Administration of China further clarified the supervision and cleaning goals of the Internet space, striving to combine the governance of the Internet space with the transmission of social order and values.

However, in the context of the gradual deepening of Internet management, how to protect user rights and create a healthy environment without suppressing freedom of speech, and how to balance the management standards between different platforms will be the challenges facing China's Internet supervision in the future. As the Internet penetrates deeper into daily life and the public becomes more and more dependent on cyberspace, future regulatory policies and enforcement efforts are bound to affect the online experience and sense of participation of the majority of users.