Gu Ailing of Team China competes in the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe event on February 18. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

China's cyberspace regulators have taken measures against cyber bullying and insults against athletes and coaches during Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, like skier Gu Ailing and skater Zhu Yi, in a special campaign to regulate internet activities.

About 879,000 pieces of harmful information have been deleted and more than 41,000 illegal accounts have been shut down for cyber violence since the beginning of 2022, said Zhang Yongjun, an official from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), at a press conference on Thursday. 

To crack down on cyber bullying, the CAC will intensify punishment for internet users who engage in attacks and insults against others, said Zhang. 

The online platforms will be urged to ban hate speech or suspend private messages for accounts involved to prevent the escalation and spread of cyber bullying. Those accounts that initiate, repeatedly forward or incite the release of bullying information will be shut down or permanently banned from publishing information, according to the nature of their conduct. 

Cyber bullying, which consists of verbal violence in the form of insults, threats, intimidation, violation of privacy and the disclosure of personal information, can also be accompanied by criminal acts.

Zhang noted that those suspected of breaking the law and committing crimes will be handed over to relevant departments for investigation to determine their legal responsibility according to the law.

The the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics gained enormous attention and engagement from Chinese netizens but cyber bullying has also targeted some athletes and coaches of the Olympics.

US-born figure skater, Zhu Yi, who fell twice on her Winter Olympics debut with Team China, was one of the victims of cyber bullying. Amid a controversy, China's Twitter-like social media platform, Sina Weibo, suspended 93 accounts and deleted some 300 posts attacking Zhu on February 7. 

The special campaign, named Operation Qinglang, was launched by the CAC in 2021, aiming at tackling disorder on the internet and creating a better online ecosystem in China. 

In 2021, over 22 million pieces of illegal information and more than 2,160 illegal apps and mini programs were removed, about 1.34 billion illegal accounts were shut down and over 3,200 websites were closed in a series of joint actions by the CAC and relevant departments.