China cracking down 'paid removal of posts' online

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Trolling is a normal part of online life and while it can often be amusing, sometimes it is offensive.

Some online forums offer ways to report posts users think are inappropriate and recommend be removed, a service which usually costs nothing.

But in China, some websites ask for money to do that and they're now the subject of a crackdown by Internet regulators.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said Friday that regulators plan to take action against "illegal online publicity" on Internet forums and has published a list of rules on its website to further regulate the country's Bulletin Board System (BBS).

"Illegal online publicity" includes paid posts, paid removal of posts and illegal notifications.

The administration mentioned two names of forums that may be guilty of conducting such activities.

One is Baidu Tieba, a Reddit-like forum based on keywords, while the other is Tianya, an old-school Chinese forum that has more than a billion registered accounts.

The "funny video" section of Baidu Tieba, with a slogan reads "We're making fun seriously" /Tieba Screenshot‍

The front page of Tianya forum /Tianya Screenshot

The administration has also received reports from users that illegal content – including pornographic, violent, and terrorism-related images and false information – was being spread on some forums, according to the CAC.

The CAC requires real name registration on BBS.

The office issued the regulations in order to better develop China's online forums, protect the legal rights of Chinese web users and online organizations and safeguard national security and the public interest, the administration said.

The CAC has also promised to further crack down on illegal online behavior and welcomes reports from the public.

The regulations come into effect on October 1.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency