China updates regulations of public accounts on social media

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has announced a new set of revised regulations on the operation of public accounts on social media, cracking down on fake information and misuses of the service.

Public accounts, or official accounts on certain social media, refer to those subscription accounts created and run by users of various internet platforms to distribute information to the public.

The newly unveiled regulations require these platforms to establish a monitoring and evaluation mechanism for public accounts to prevent data fraud such as false account subscriptions and interaction counts.

Account operators shall not generate false data or fabricate information to distort facts and mislead the public, according to the revised regulations.

The new regulations will prohibit paid release or deletion of information and ban operators from unauthorized news production, plagiarism, or incitement of violence online.

The revised regulations will come into effect on Feb 22.