“Administrative Provisions on the Account Information of Internet Users” has come into force on August 1, 2022

In April 2022, Baidu Tieba, Weibo, TikTok and many other online platforms have added the display IP address bar, which reveals a veil of Internet users. Shortly thereafter, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued the ” Administrative Provisions on the Account Information of Internet Users ” (hereinafter referred to as the “Provisions”) on June 27, 2022, which has come into force on August 1. The regulations clarify the registration, use and management rules of user’s account from the two dimensions of Internet information service providers and users. It is worth noting that, for enterprises, in the event of an online infringement incident, the details of the relevant user’s account will help to lock the infringing target more quickly and effectively.

• Users shall obey the following rules while registering and using their accounts.

1. Authenticity—- Where the account information registered and used by an individual Internet user includes occupation information, such information shall be consistent with the user’s true occupation information. The account information registered and used by an organizational Internet user shall be consistent with the name and logo of the organization and match the nature, business scope and industry type of the organization.
2. Lawful —- Any of the following circumstances is prohibited when an Internet user registers or uses account information: (I) violating Articles 6 and 7 of the Provisions on the Ecological Governance of Network Information Contents; (II) counterfeiting, imitating or fabricating the names or logos, etc. of political parties, parties, governments or military organs, enterprises, public institutions, people’s organizations or social organizations; (III) counterfeiting, imitating or fabricating the names or marks, etc. of countries (regions) or international organizations; (IV) counterfeiting, imitating or fabricating names, marks, etc. of news media such as news website, newspaper or periodical offices, radio or television agencies, news agencies, or using names, marks, etc. of news attribute such as “news”, “reporting”, etc. without authorization; (V) counterfeiting, imitating or maliciously associating the geographical names or marks of important spaces such as administrative regions, locations of establishments and landmark buildings of countries; (VI) deliberately carrying a QR code, website address, email address, contact information, etc., or using homophonic or similar words, numbers, symbols and letters, etc. for the purposes of damaging public interests or seeking illegitimate benefits;(VII) containing any untruthful or exaggerated contents that may deceive or mislead the public; or (VIII) containing other contents prohibited by the laws, administrative regulations and the relevant provisions of the State.
3.  Certification—- Where internet users apply for registration of accounts for Internet-based information services that are subject to administrative licensing in accordance with the law for provision of Internet news information services, online publishing services etc., or apply for registration of accounts for production of information content in the fields of economy, education, medical care and health, justice, etc., Internet-based information service providers shall require them to provide relevant materials such as service qualification, professional qualification and professional background, verify the same and add a special mark to the account information.

• In addition to the responsibilities of checking the authentication of users’ information and protecting users’ information, the Internet-based information service providers shall take the following measures:

1. It shall formulate and make public the rules for the management of accounts of Internet users and platform conventions, enter into service agreements with Internet users and specify the rights and obligations relating to the registration, use and management of account information. In practice, the majority platforms have meet such requirements, however, some of those rules and agreements may not have mentioned the above detailed requirements, including the extension of those requirements, it is recommended to update relevant rules and agreements.
2. It shall verify the information of the users which shall obtained specific certifications, and add a special mark to the account information.
3. It shall display the home location information of the Internet protocol (IP) addresses of users’ accounts within a reasonable scope on the information page of internet users’ accounts so as to facilitate supervision by the public for public interests.
4. It shall display such information as the operator, registered address, content production category, unified social credit code, valid contact information, home location of IP addresses of the official accounts on the information pages of official accounts of internet users.