You are responsible for what users post: set up review, a reporting entry, and when you find illegal content, stop it from spreading right away and report it

Cost

You have to pay people to review content, which is the biggest long-term expense of a platform. The reporting entry and a record of every action taken must be kept on file. The hard part is that someone must watch every day, and one day off can cause trouble.

What you get

The regulations say a platform “shall perform its primary responsibility for managing information content,” so the platform itself is in charge of what users post. In detail, it must “improve its systems for user registration, account management, review of published information, review of follow-up comments, ecosystem management of pages, real-time patrols, emergency handling, and handling of online rumors and information from the black-market industry chain.” From registration, posting and comments to daily patrols and handling incidents, every step needs written rules. It must also “set up a convenient complaint and reporting entry in a prominent place,” so the report button goes where users see it at a glance and can click it. When it finds illegal information, it “shall immediately take handling measures according to law, keep the relevant records, and report to the relevant competent authority.” The Cybersecurity Law (《网络安全法》) is more specific. Its wording is: “Where information whose publication or transmission is prohibited by laws and administrative regulations is found, transmission of that information shall immediately be stopped, and handling measures such as deletion taken to prevent its spread, relevant records kept, and a report made to the competent authority.” Those who fail to do so are ordered to correct it, warned and publicly named, and may also be fined 50,000 (5万) to 500,000 (50万) CNY. Those who refuse to correct it, or whose circumstances are serious, are fined 500,000 (50万) to 2,000,000 (200万) CNY, and may also be ordered to suspend business for rectification, have the website or app shut down, and have their license or business license revoked. The people directly in charge are fined a further 50,000 (5万) to 200,000 (20万) CNY (nationwide).

Notes

You don't have to invent the review rules; copy them. The nine kinds of content that may not be published are listed clearly in Article 15 of the Measures for the Administration of Internet Information Services (《互联网信息服务管理办法》). Live streamers have three more duties: to “set up a live content review platform,” to be able to cut off a stream in progress at any time (the law calls this “immediate interruption”), and to keep live content and logs for 60 days. Video materials of online performances must likewise be kept for no less than 60 days.

Evidence grade

A : Specific numbers from meta-analyses, large cohorts or randomized trials; for law and policy, the statute or official text.

Sources

1. 国家互联网信息办公室 (2019). 网络信息内容生态治理规定（网信办令第 5 号，第八、九、十、十六、三十七条）. http://www.cac.gov.cn/2019-12/20/c_1578375159509309.htm
2. 全国人大常委会 (2025). 网络安全法（2025 年修正，2026 年 1 月 1 日施行，第四十九、六十九条）. https://www.cac.gov.cn/2025-12/29/c_1768735112911946.htm
3. 国务院 (2000). 互联网信息服务管理办法（第十五、十六、二十三条）. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2011/content_1860864.htm

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 26, tip 6. This section describes legal rules, mostly mainland China’s. It is general information, not legal advice; for your own case, talk to a lawyer. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer