Social media companies asked to launch security evaluation system

Chinese internet companies which provide online social networking service platforms must submit a security report to cyberspace regulators, a measure the country’s cyberspace watchdog says is aimed at strengthening security management and safeguarding national security.

According to a regulation published by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) on Thursday, companies which develop applications containing forums, blogs, chat rooms, short videos, and live-streaming platforms where users express opinions or mobilize the public are obliged to submit the security report to local cyberspace administration offices and public security departments from December.

The security evaluation report should include the real identity of users, a record log of which services users access (account, date, address, use of hardware), evidence of any illegal information or activities, as well as measures the company is taking against risks.

The CAC said the move aims to strengthen security management, standardize internet services, and safeguard national security, social order and public interests.

If social media platform developers provide new services or update existing software, see remarkable changes in their user base or recognize and monitor the spread of harmful information, they should launch a security evaluation, said the regulation.

The regulation said cyberspace and public security departments should strictly keep secret the national, business and personal information that they acquire. They shall not reveal, sell or illegally provide those secrets to others.

Wang Sixin, a professor at the Communication University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times that “the regulation aims to monitor some organizations that use the internet to mobilize the public to do things beyond the regulation of the government.”

The evaluation report would help the government to predict and manage the outcomes of social events, Wang said.