Officially, the new campaign is all about rooting out false information and rumours.
President Xi Jinping is expected to ascend to a third term. PDO
China begins three-month crackdown to clean local internet of ‘rumours and misinformation’ Register news.
Last Friday, the country’s cyberspace administration announced a plan to require the country’s technology companies to take greater steps to identify sources of rumors and fake news. When people who spread this information are caught, companies should punish them with warnings, bans and permanent bans.
If the companies are not able to eradicate the spread of false information by their actions, the state can prohibit them from taking more users to their services and put the companies on a public board of shame.
In addition to companies, regional governments have been called on to increase enforcement to help companies catch rumor mongers.
China is known for similar actions. Various internet cleaning campaigns have been organized in recent years. This time the campaign coincides with the October 16 People’s Congress, where the president Xi Jinping is expected to be approved for a third five-year term as the country’s leader.
According to the Register, it seems that the new cleanup operation is probably intended to minimize any kind of online writing critical of congressional decisions. China requires people to log into many online services with their verified name. The Register points out that the system in question is by no means without loopholes, which the new operation shows.