China has been connected to the Internet for 30 years and has enacted more than 150 cyber laws

The State Council of China stated that China has been connected to the Internet for 30 years and has enacted more than 150 laws in the field of the Internet. In 2023, more than 22,000 cases of various types of false and illegal Internet advertisements were investigated and dealt with, and more than 20 billion pieces of illegal and irregular information were cleared. Scholars believe that China has formed a local area network, and the public does not know which laws are being implemented.

On Tuesday (18th), the Information Office of the State Council of China held a press conference to introduce that in the 30 years since China fully accessed the Internet, especially since entering the new era, cyber law has actively played a role in service support and guarantee, providing strong momentum for the high-quality development of the economy and society. So far, China has formulated and issued more than 150 pieces of legislation in the field of cyberspace, building the "four pillars" of China's cyber law and providing a solid institutional guarantee for the construction of a cyber power.

With more than 100 Internet laws, China has become a world of local area networks

In this regard, Mr. Zheng, a scholar from Guizhou Province, China, said in an interview with Radio Free Asia on Wednesday that in the past 30 years, China's Internet has become a local area network that is almost isolated from the world. The government has issued all laws and regulations related to the Internet, basically to firmly control the Internet. He said: "The purpose of building a firewall is to prevent domestic citizens from enjoying the right to freedom of speech, and at the same time make them deaf and blind, so that people cannot see or hear the information and voices on the international Internet."

Wang Song, deputy director of the Cyberspace Administration of China, said at the press conference that in terms of building a strict network rule of law supervision system, the construction of the network legislation filing and review system has been strengthened, the whole process of law enforcement supervision has been achieved, the connection between network law enforcement and criminal justice has been strengthened, and the requirements for government information disclosure have been implemented. He also said that in recent years, a number of basic laws in the Internet field, such as the "E-Commerce Law", have been formulated and issued. In addition, activities such as online live broadcasting, online payment, online travel, and online recruitment have been regulated.

Internet legislation is detailed and all-encompassing

Cai Shenkun, a senior current affairs commentator, told our station that in the early stages of the Internet, the Chinese government had not yet realized the importance of the Internet. When the authorities discovered that domestic citizens could learn about the Western world through the Internet, they quickly and frequently enacted laws. He said: "Now if you want to know about the outside world in China, you have to go over the firewall. Now they have a lot of very detailed laws for the health of the Internet, including in the normal use of the Internet. Of course, because there are too many laws, the law does not punish everyone, so they turn a blind eye. If you go over the firewall but do not make critical comments, there is no problem."

Cai Shenkun said that if netizens use VPNs to post messages criticizing the Chinese government or leaders, the police will come to you at any time: "They will also treat you differently when enforcing the law. So China has many laws, more than 100 laws targeting the Internet, and ordinary people may rarely know how many laws are being implemented."

Peng Xinmin, director of the Regulations Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation, said that in May this year, the Interim Provisions on Anti-Unfair Competition on the Internet were also announced to address issues such as "cashback for good reviews", "data traffic fraud" and "big data killing old customers" by network operators. In 2023, a total of 22,500 cases of various types of false and illegal Internet advertising were investigated and dealt with.

In recent years, more than 20 billion pieces of illegal information have been cleaned up

In addition, Li Changxi, director of the Cyberspace Administration of China's Cyberspace Law and Regulation Bureau, disclosed that in recent years, more than 40 special operations have been carried out, and more than 20 billion pieces of illegal and irregular information have been cleared. The "Regulations on the Protection of Minors on the Internet" and "Regulations on the Protection of Children's Personal Information on the Internet" have also been formulated to make clear provisions for protecting the legitimate rights and interests of minors.

In recent years, China has continued to legislate in the field of the Internet. In March 2020, China's "Regulations on the Ecological Governance of Network Information Content" and "Internet Information Service Management Measures" (issued in 2000 and revised in 2011) were officially implemented.