The comments that fall into the scope of inspection include original posts, replies and real-time comments that appear on top of a video, known as ‘bullet chats’
China’s cyberspace watchdog is planning to review every social media comment under its newly proposed regulation released on 17 June 2022, drawing concerns over the freedom of speech in the country, said SCMP.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s internet watchdog, published the draft rules on 17 June 2022, which direct platforms to hire a content moderation team, ‘commensurate with the scale of the service’, to inspect all user comments and possibly filter inappropriate ones before they go public. The comments that fall into the scope of inspection include original posts, replies and real-time comments that appear on top of a video, known as ‘bullet chats’.
Vincent Brussee, an academic expert from the Mercator Institute for China Studies, spelled out his fears about China’s move to establish stricter controls on online content and civic discussion. However, Brussee believes that the new regulations won’t be enough to police all comments that can be categorized by the content moderation teams as ‘harmful,’ especially as soon as they are online.
Comments are an increasingly popular feature, and the regulations – now over five years old – have to keep up with the times, Brussee says.
The proposed law also specifies that the real identity information of registered users shall be verified, and commenting services shall not be provided to users without having confirmed their real identity information.
According to the drafted regulations, social media commenting services providers should also provide a static version of the content displayed on a ‘barrage’ post when necessary. They should also establish and improve information security management systems such as reviewing every social media comment, conducting real-time inspections and providing emergency responses. The content of post comments should be reviewed prior to being published, any illegal content should be discovered and handled in a timely manner, and reported to the Internet Information Department.
In terms of public account producers and operators, they shall perform the responsibility for self-management of the content of social media comments, as well as strengthening the review management of social media accounts. They should also report any illegal and inappropriate content of social media comments in time, and take necessary measures.