Law to turn China into Internet power: expert
China's first Cyber Security Law took effect on Thursday and Internet regulators launched a nationwide campaign to promote the law, with domestic Internet companies trying to figure out what the new regulations entail.
Authorities in Yuncheng, North China's Shanxi Province distributed over 1,000 pamphlets to local residents in a bid to familiarize them with cyber security and tools to prevent security risks.
An employee of the China Internet Network Information Center told the Global Times that she was told to attend a lecture on Friday on the cyber security law conducted by the Cyberspace Administration of China.
Meantime, the government of Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province set up a report center to mobilize netizens to report illegal information and crack down on Internet fraud, pornography and rumors.
Chinese technology and financial companies also reacted to the law.
In a statement sent by Tencent to the Global Times on Thursday, the company said it will hold a Cyber Security Summit in August to tackle future opportunities for China's Internet security industry based on the law.
Baidu, another domestic tech behemoth, also released a statement on Thursday, suggesting how website administrators should operate under the new law. For example, websites should regularly conduct security inspections so that potential risks are prevented. Moreover, code security auditing and application penetration tests should be conducted before important applications go online to prevent loopholes or backdoors.
Baidu has required users of the company's services, including popular online forum Baidu Tieba and cloud storage service, to register using their real names as part of efforts to implement the cyber security law. The law states that an Internet operator should require its users to provide their real names before publishing content and using instant messaging.
The popular news application Jinri Toutiao on Thursday established a "cyber security commission." Consisting of the company core staff in technology, production and auditing, the commission will set up a 24-hour hotline and promote a real-name system.
Crackdown on fraud
The law will effectively curb rampant cybercrimes and contain the development of the Internet black market. The cyber security law will provide an institutional guarantee to the country's strategy of developing into an Internet power, Zhao Mingyu, an analyst at global market intelligence firm International Data Corporation, told the Global Times.
The law states that network operators are not allowed to leak, change or damage the personal information they gather, and are not permitted to offer personal information to others without the consent of the persons involved. Operators are also obliged to take measures to ensure the security of the personal information they collect.
China's Supreme Court and Supreme Procuratorate further stated that those who illegally obtain, sell, or provide personal information of over 50 items will be sentenced to up to three years in jail. The same punishment will also be imposed on those who publish people's identities, photos, names, and other personal information without prior authorization.
The law further states that network operators who fail to stop the transmission of prohibited information and fail to delete them will be warned, and their illegal gains will be confiscated. If the websites refuse to reform, they will be fined up to 500,000 yuan ($75,000) and their operations will be suspended.
Xiang Jun, president of Dimeng.net, an Internet financial services platform, told china.com.cn that the law will create a security revolution, especially for the Internet finance industry that has been suffering from cyber attacks.
