In today’s ever-changing digital ecosystem, the proliferation of false information and even malicious contents has emerged as one of the most pressing challenges to the cyberspace integrity. In recent years, China’s internet regulator and judicial authorities have put efforts in regulating and monitoring malicious network contents.
I. Administrative Approach & Latest Initiative
On April 15, 2025, the Cyberspace Administration of China (the “CAC”) has launched a nationwide campaign to crack down on malicious marketing in the short video sector. This three-month initiative, so-named “Clear and Bright·Crackdown on Malicious Marketing Chaos in the Short-Video Field” (the “CAC’s Initiative”), aims to foster a healthier and more trustworthy online environment.
The campaign will target the following four categories of misconduct.
1. Malicious staged fake scenarios:
- Fabricating pitiable personas, claiming false identity of new occupations group and staging emotionally manipulative content to exploit public sympathy for financial gain
- Fabricating elite personas or dramatic life stories and exaggerating “rags-to-riches” narratives to gain attention, internet traffic and profit
- Writing fake tragic scripts under the guise of promoting rural development or poverty alleviation
2.Dissemination of false information:
- Deceptive editing through “cut-and-paste” or “quoting out of context”
- Exaggerating family conflicts, workplace disputes or violent incidents to incite social anxiety and provoke group antagonism
- Using deepfakes and altered audio or visuals to fabricate stories
- Pseudo-scientific popularization or interpreting content, or fake experts or impersonate academic or professional institutions to maliciously fabricate and disseminate misleading information concerning economic, legal, historical, medical and other professional fields
3.Violations of public order and social morality:
- Harassing strangers during outdoor “pickup” or street interviews
- Soft-pornography through suggestive titles, attire, or gestures, etc.
4.Improper diversion of internet traffic:
- Use of gimmicks such as “emotional communication”, “traditional Chinese culture”, “traditional Chinese medicine for health cultivation” and ‘getting rich quickly” to lure the irrational consumption of specific groups such as the elderly
- Use of exaggerated and sensational “Title Party” copywriting such as “exposing industry secrets”, “exposing industry insiders”, “reporting industry fraud” and “I was blocked by the industry” to attract internet fans
- Publish of false contents like “anti-counterfeiting”, “evaluation” and “shop exploration” content which mislead users’ awareness of relevant brand image, commodity quality and service level
The CAC has outlined the following enforcement approaches targeting the foregoing misbehaviors.
1.Platform accountability: requiring short video service platform to enhance content moderation, strengthen content review mechanisms, improve recommendation algorithms and traffic distribution systems, and ensure users have access to clear channels for reporting problematic content
2.Severe penalties: committing to strict punishment for problematic platforms and accounts, including public exposure of representative cases for deterrent effect
3.Sustainable governance: emphasizing long-term governance through improved labeling, monetization controls, and reporting channels to curb malicious marketing
Notably, the CAC’s Initiative builds upon some earlier regulations like the Provisions on the Governance of Network Information Content Ecology which first prohibited fraud of internet traffic and fake account registration. The goal is to protect the legitimate rights and interests of netizens and promote the healthy and orderly development of the industry.
It is widely noted that China is home to a vast short video market. As of June 2024, the number of short video users reached 1.05 billion, accounting for 95.5 percent of the country’s total internet population. The timing of the CAC’s Initiative reflects regulators’ recognition of short-video platforms’ growing influence, particularly their role in shaping and remodeling user behavior, political opinions, and social values, as well as the increasing malicious marketing practices in the short video sector. For instance, on April 10, 2025, police in Chengdu, Sichuan province, detained two short video account operators after multiple videos went viral showing men confessing romantic feelings to other men on the Chengdu subway. Authorities further found that the creators were not genuinely interested in men and that the content was largely fabricated to generate online traffic. Police warned that fabricating content for online traffic in ways that violate laws and regulations will be punished. By targeting specific manipulation tactics rather than content viewpoints, therefore, the campaign aims to restore authenticity to online discourse while preserving legitimate expression.
II. Judicial Approach & Landmark Case Overview
The first case in terms of resolving the dispute in relation to manipulating the “internet water army”, was selected as one of the Top Ten Cases of the People’s Courts in 2024 (the “2024 Case”). In this case, a series of innovative legal application standards and liability determination schemes are put forward, which further activates the public interest litigation system and sparks in-depth discussion on the governance of “dissemination of false information on the internet” through artificial or technical intervention.
From September 2019 to May 2022, a Chinese citizen whose family name is Yang (“Yang”) used the platform developed by several companies registered by him and further recruit many part-time workers to act as the “internet water army”. By manipulating the “internet water army”, he engaged in paid business like conducting positive praise, forwarding and commenting on the publicity of film and television works, online videos, game works and commodities designated by customers, and publishing specific contents of specific works and commodities on relevant network platforms according to customer requirements without verifying the authenticity of information. Yang and his companies also deleted posts by means of “complaint and reporting” on the information publishing platform to reduce the spreading of negative information for specific works and commodities. Yang and his companies have preserved more than 1,200 internet accounts and fabricated more than 240,000 pieces of information through the business model like “forwarding positive praise” and “direct distribution”, the revenue generated from which reached more than RMB 8.96 million. In the meanwhile, they have fabricated more than 1,200 pieces of information through “complaint and reporting” mechanism, the revenue generated from which reached more than RMB190,000. Moreover, Yang and his companies provide paid deletion services for the purpose of making profits, and their acts of disrupting market order have been found to constitute the crime of illegal business operation by the court’s criminal judgment, and they shall be investigated for criminal responsibility.
The People’s Procuratorate of Binjiang District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, also filed a civil public interest lawsuit against Yang and his companies on the grounds of network tort liability disputes. After a public hearing, Hangzhou Internet Court held that the act of disseminating false information on the internet constitutes not only the act of disseminating fabricated, fictitious and distorted information, but also the act of interfering with the presentation of information by means of artificial or technical means, such as traffic fraud, false registered accounts and manipulation of user accounts. The acts of the defendants have disrupted the network public opinion environment and the order of internet integrity, destroyed the operation order of relevant industries and markets, damaged the public’s right to know and choose, and should bear relevant civil tort liability. Hangzhou Internet Court finally ordered the defendants to apologize publicly in the state-level media, delete the false information that had been published, cancel false accounts of the “internet water army” up to more than 1,200, and ordered compensation for public interest damages totaling RMB1 million, given the tort nature, duration, scope of impact, harm and other factors.
Notably, this civil judgment complemented the prior criminal convictions for the paid takedown services, demonstrating a multi-pronged legal approach. According to the Decision of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Zhejiang Province on the Governance of False Information on the Internet, the prosecutorial authorities should explore and develop the path of public interest litigation in the field of network false information governance. To tackle the 2024 Case, judicial authorities intervene in the cyberspace governance by means of “public interest litigation”, which expands the path of monitoring false information spread on the internet.
In the 2024 Case, the court has also clarified several issues concerning the internet disinformation. Firstly, it determines that the network false information refers to the information presented in the form of words, numbers, images, audio and video or symbols, which is inconsistent with the facts or fabricated, disturbs the political, social and economic order or infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of others. The court expansively interpreted “false information” including not just factually inaccurate content but also “artificially manipulated data fraud”.
Secondly, the court emphasized the cumulative societal harm of such operations, noting that while individual consumers might suffer small losses, the aggregate damage to public interests was substantial. The judgment identified social harms caused by network false information, which encompasses (i) damaging the interests of individual personality, (ii) destroying the trust and stability of the network society, (iii) destroying the ecological order of network information content, and (iv) disrupting the normal operation order of the market.
Last but not the least, the calculation of damage of compensation in the judgement merits our attention. Rather than merely considering direct quantifiable losses in general civil tort disputes, the court calculated the damage of compensation based on multiple factors including duration, social impact, profits, and costs associated with governing and repairing the damaged network ecology.
III. Key Takeaways for Internet Platform Compliance Practice
The evolving regulatory landscape, exemplified by the 2024 Case and the CAC’s Initiative, creates both risks and responsibilities for businesses operating online. Companies should (i) understand the full spectrum of potential legal liabilities including civil liability, administrative penalties and even the criminal liabilities in severe situations caused by acts relating to the internet disinformation and (ii) implement robust compliance programs to mitigate exposure to misbehaviors pursuant to relevant laws and regulations. We present the following measures for business parties’ consideration:
1.Marketing authenticity protocols:
- Prohibit paid or incentivized reviews lacking clear disclosure
- Establish verification systems for user-generated content claiming product experience
- Maintain clear and complete archives of promotional collaborations with influencers
2.Algorithmic governance:
- Avoid engagement metrics manipulation through artificial boosting
- Ensure recommendation algorithms don’t preferentially amplify paid/promoted content
- Implement safeguards against “filter bubbles” that might reinforce false narratives
3.Partner/vendor due diligence:
- Conduct due diligence through third-party marketing firms experienced in compliance practices
- Monitor affiliate networks that may involve in prohibited tactics like use of “internet water army”
- Include anti-disinformation clauses in collaboration agreement/vendor contracts
4.Employee training:
- Educate staff on laws and regulations on a regular basis
- Establish whistleblower channels for reporting concerns
- Conduct regular audits of marketing practices
5.Crisis preparedness:
- Develop response plans for inadvertent disinformation incidents
- Designate compliance officers who are familiar with ever-evolving governance standards
- Maintain documentation for demonstrating good-faith compliance efforts
In addition, regarding various industrial sectors, business parties should take industry-specific considerations into account. For instance, companies engaged in e-commerce should conduct scrutiny on review systems and product claims, while entertainment companies should put efforts on risks brought by artificial popularity metrics and fan mobilization.
Both the CAC’s Initiative and the 2024 Case serve as a reminder that compliance is about avoiding penalties as well as maintaining the integrity of network ecology. As courts increasingly recognize the societal costs of information pollution, businesses contributing to or insufficiently preventing such harm may face reputational and legal consequences. This governance approach combining clear prohibitions, platform accountability, and public education, offers a model for addressing the internet disinformation without undue censorship. As the legal consequences for information pollution grow more severe, legal and ethical information practices must become core to corporate strategy. The emerging legal environment, therefore, presents both risks and opportunities for businesses. Those who prioritize authentic engagement, transparent metrics, and rigorous compliance will not only avoid regulatory action but also earn consumers’ trust.
For further information, please contact:
Xiangxiang MA, Partner, Anjie Broad
maxiangxiang@anjielaw.com
- See article 24 of the Provisions on the Governance of Network Information Content Ecology.
- See Xinhua Agency, China to crack down on malicious short video content, China Daily (April 15, 2025).
- See a warning notice issued by Chengdu Public Security Bureau Rail Transit Branch on April 10, 2025.
- See paragraph 2, article 18 of Decision of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Zhejiang Province on the Governance of False Information on the Internet.
- See Chen Zengbao, Judicial Response to False Information on the Internet — — Reflections on the First Case of Manipulating “Internet Water Army”, Digital Law, No. 5, 2024.
- See supra note 5.
