Measures for the Administration of the Filing of Non-commercial Internet Information Services (Order No. 33 of the Ministry of Information Industry)

Order of the Ministry of Information Industry of the People's Republic of China No. 33 The Measures for the Administration of Filing for Non-commercial Internet Information Services were examined and adopted at the 12th ministerial meeting of the Ministry of Information Industry of the People's Republic of China on January 28, 2005, are hereby promulgated, and shall come into force on March 20, 2005. Minister Wang Xudong February 8, 2005 Measures for the Administration of Filing for Non-commercial Internet Information Services Article 1 These Measures are formulated for the purpose of regulating the filing for non-commercial Internet information services and the administration of such filing, promoting the healthy development of the Internet information service industry, and in accordance with the Measures for the Administration of Internet Information Services, the Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China, and other relevant laws and administrative regulations. Article 2 These Measures shall apply to the provision of non-commercial Internet information services within the territory of the People's Republic of China, the performance of filing procedures, and the implementation of filing administration. Article 3 The Ministry of Information Industry of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Ministry of Information Industry") shall supervise and guide the national filing administration of non-commercial Internet information services, and the communications administrations of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government (hereinafter referred to as "provincial communications administrations") shall specifically implement the filing administration of non-commercial Internet information services. Anyone intending to engage in non-commercial Internet information services shall perform filing procedures with the provincial communications administration of the place where its domicile is located. Article 4 In filing administration, provincial communications administrations shall follow the principles of openness, fairness, and impartiality and provide convenient, high-quality, and efficient services. When engaging in non-commercial Internet information services, providers of non-commercial Internet information services shall comply with relevant provisions of the State and accept supervision and administration implemented by relevant departments in accordance with law. Article 5 To provide non-commercial Internet information services within the territory of the People's Republic of China, filing procedures shall be performed in accordance with law. Without filing, no one may engage in non-commercial Internet information services within the territory of the People's Republic of China. For the purposes of these Measures, providing non-commercial Internet information services within the territory of the People's Republic of China means that organizations or individuals within the territory of the People's Republic of China provide non-commercial Internet information services by using websites accessible through Internet domain names or websites accessible only through Internet IP addresses. Article 6 Provincial communications administrations shall conduct filing administration online through the filing administration system of the Ministry of Information Industry. Article 7 Anyone intending to engage in non-commercial Internet information services shall truthfully fill out the Filing Registration Form for Non-commercial Internet Information Services (hereinafter referred to as the "Filing Registration Form", the format of which is set out in the Appendix to these Measures) through the filing administration system of the Ministry of Information Industry, and perform filing procedures. The Ministry of Information Industry shall adjust and publish the Filing Registration Form according to actual circumstances. Article 8 Anyone intending to engage in non-commercial Internet information services by accessing a commercial Internet network may entrust Internet access service operators, Internet data center service operators, and telecommunications service operators that provide access services to their websites by other means to perform on their behalf such procedures as filing, filing modification, and filing cancellation. Article 9 Anyone intending to engage in non-commercial Internet information services by accessing public-interest Internet networks such as China Education and Research Network, China Science and Technology Network, China International Economic and Trade Internet, and China Great Wall Internet may have the public-interest Internet network entities that provide Internet access services to their websites perform on their behalf such procedures as filing, filing modification, and filing cancellation. Article 10 Internet access service operators, Internet data center service operators, telecommunications service operators that provide access services to websites by other means, and public-interest Internet network entities (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Internet access service providers") shall not, under circumstances where they know or should know that the filing information of an organization or individual intending to engage in non-commercial Internet information services is untrue, perform on behalf of such organization or individual such procedures as filing, filing modification, and filing cancellation. Article 11 Anyone intending to engage in Internet information services such as news, publishing, education, medical and health care, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, culture, and radio, film, and television programs, which shall, in accordance with laws, administrative regulations, and relevant provisions of the State, be subject to examination and approval by the relevant competent departments, shall, when performing filing procedures, also submit to the provincial communications administration of the place where its domicile is located the document showing examination and approval by the relevant competent department. Anyone intending to engage in electronic bulletin board services shall, when performing filing procedures, also submit to the provincial communications administration of the place where its domicile is located special filing materials for electronic bulletin board services. Article 12 After receiving filing materials submitted by a filer, if the materials are complete, the provincial communications administration shall complete the filing within 20 working days, issue to the filer an electronic filing verification mark and filing number, and publish the relevant filing information to the public through the filing administration system of the Ministry of Information Industry; if the materials are incomplete, it shall not complete the filing and shall notify the filer and explain the reasons within 20 working days. Article 13 Providers of non-commercial Internet information services shall, when their websites are launched, indicate their filing numbers at the central position at the bottom of their homepages and, below the filing numbers, link to the website address of the filing administration system of the Ministry of Information Industry as required, for public inquiry and verification. Providers of non-commercial Internet information services shall, when their websites are launched, place the electronic filing verification marks in the designated directories of their websites in accordance with the requirements of the filing administration system of the Ministry of Information Industry. Article 14 If a provider of non-commercial Internet information services needs to modify the information filled out in its Filing Registration Form during the filing validity period, it shall, 30 days in advance, log in to the filing system of the Ministry of Information Industry and perform filing modification procedures with the original filing authority. Article 15 If a provider of non-commercial Internet information services needs to terminate the provision of services during the filing validity period, it shall, on the date of service termination, log in to the filing system of the Ministry of Information Industry and perform filing cancellation procedures with the original filing authority. Article 16 Providers of non-commercial Internet information services shall ensure that the information content they provide is lawful. For the purposes of these Measures, the information content provided by a provider of non-commercial Internet information services means the information content contained under the Internet domain name or IP address of the website of the Internet information service provider. Article 17 Provincial communications administrations shall establish management mechanisms such as credibility management, social supervision, and situation investigation to supervise and administer non-commercial Internet information service activities. Article 18 Internet access service providers shall not provide Internet access services to organizations or individuals that have not completed filing and engage in non-commercial Internet information services. For providers of non-commercial Internet information services or organizations or individuals illegally engaging in non-commercial Internet information services that are subject to the penalty of temporarily closing their websites or closing their websites by a provincial communications administration, Internet access service providers shall immediately suspend or terminate the provision of Internet access services to them. Article 19 Internet access service providers shall record the filing information of the non-commercial Internet information service providers they access. Internet access service providers shall, in accordance with relevant provisions of the State, perform network information security management work such as dynamic management of user information, retention of records, and reporting of harmful information, and shall supervise the users they access as required by the Ministry of Information Industry and provincial communications administrations. Article 20 Provincial communications administrations shall, in accordance with law, conduct annual review of the filing for non-commercial Internet information services. Provincial communications administrations shall conduct annual review online through the filing administration system of the Ministry of Information Industry. Article 21 Providers of non-commercial Internet information services shall, at the prescribed time each year, log in to the filing administration system of the Ministry of Information Industry and perform annual review procedures. Article 22 Where the provisions of Article 5 of these Measures are violated and non-commercial Internet information services are provided without performing filing procedures, the provincial communications administration of the place where the domicile is located shall order correction within a specified time limit and impose a fine of RMB 10,000; if correction is refused, the website shall be closed. Where services are provided beyond the filed items, the provincial communications administration of the place where the domicile is located shall order correction within a specified time limit and impose a fine of not less than RMB 5,000 but not more than RMB 10,000; if correction is refused, the website shall be closed and the filing shall be cancelled. Article 23 Where the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 7 of these Measures are violated by filling in false filing information, the provincial communications administration of the place where the domicile is located shall close the website and cancel the filing. Article 24 Where the provisions of Articles 10, 18, and 19 of these Measures are violated, the provincial communications administration of the place where the illegal act occurs shall order correction and impose a fine of RMB 10,000. Article 25 Where the provisions of Article 13 of these Measures are violated by failing to link to the website address of the filing administration system of the Ministry of Information Industry below the filing number, or failing to place the electronic filing verification mark in the designated directory of the website, the provincial communications administration of the place where the domicile is located shall order correction and impose a fine of not less than RMB 5,000 but not more than RMB 10,000. Article 26 Where the provisions of Articles 14 and 15 of these Measures are violated by failing to perform filing modification procedures within the prescribed time, or failing to perform filing cancellation procedures in accordance with law, the provincial communications administration of the place where the domicile is located shall order correction within a specified time limit and impose a fine of RMB 10,000. Article 27 Where a provider of non-commercial information services violates relevant legal provisions of the State and should be suspended or terminated in accordance with law, the provincial communications administration may, based on the written determination opinion of the same-level authority authorized by laws and administrative regulations, temporarily close the website, or close the website and cancel the filing. Article 28 During annual review, if a provider of non-commercial Internet information services falls under any of the following circumstances, the provincial communications administration of the place where its domicile is located shall, through the filing system of the Ministry of Information Industry and other media, issue a notice ordering it to make correction within a specified time limit; if correction is refused, the website shall be closed and the filing shall be cancelled: (1) failing to log in to the filing website and submit annual review information within the prescribed time; (2) the State departments in charge of news, education, public security, security, culture, radio, film and television, publishing, secrecy, etc. have, in accordance with law, issued a negative opinion in annual review on the specialized content under their respective jurisdiction. Article 29 These Measures shall take effect on March 20, 2005. Appendix Filing Registration Form for Non-commercial Internet Information Services Note: 1. "Name of the sponsoring entity" column: If the website is operated by an organization, the name of the organization shall be filled in; if it is operated by an individual, the name of the individual shall be filled in. 2. "Valid certificate number of the sponsoring entity" column: If the website is operated by an organization, this column shall be filled in with the entity code issued by the relevant department, and the name of the relevant entity shall be noted. For example, where industrial and commercial registration is required, the registration number on the business license of the enterprise or institutional legal person issued by the industrial and commercial department, or the number on the valid notice of pre-approval of enterprise name shall be filled in. If the website is operated by an individual, this column shall be filled in with the individual's valid certificate number (for example, ID card number), and the name of the certificate-issuing entity shall be noted. 3. The "Website access method" column shall be filled in with access methods such as dedicated line access, server colocation, and virtual hosting. 4. Columns such as "Website name", "Website homepage address", "Website domain name list", and "IP address list" shall be truthfully filled in according to actual conditions. Among them, the "Website homepage address" column shall be filled in with the domain name or IP address of the website homepage. For websites accessible only through Internet IP addresses, the "Website domain name list" column may be left unfilled. 5. The "Server location" column shall be filled in with the province (autonomous region, municipality directly under the Central Government) or other location where the website server or rented server space is located. 6. "Name of the website access service provider" shall be filled in with the name of the Internet access service provider that has signed a website access service contract with it. 7. "Content involving pre-approval or special approval" column: If the website involves Internet information service content requiring pre-approval, such as news, publishing, education, medical and health care, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, culture, radio, film and television programs, and electronic bulletin board services requiring special approval, this column shall be noted. Source: http://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2005/content_93018.htm