Customers purchase flowers at a market in Jinhua, East China's Zhejiang Province, on January 18, 2024. Photo: VCG

China's cyberspace regulator will conduct a special campaign to crack down on the behavior of discrediting companies and entrepreneurs, the latest move aimed at better serving China's private economy. 

The campaign will focus on rectifying the spread of false and untrue information related to enterprises, deliberately spreading rumors to discredit enterprises and entrepreneurs, and extorting enterprises in the name of "public opinion supervision," according to a notice published by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) on Friday.

The regulator also urges website platforms to strengthen the review and management of enterprise-related information, and promptly remind relevant account entities to strictly abide by laws and regulations.

The campaign is in line with China's efforts to boost the development of its private economy. China has long attached great importance to the private sector, encouraging it to play a bigger role in stabilizing growth, market insiders said. 

China should lift some institutional obstacles to further optimize the investment environment for the country's private sector in order to stimulate market vitality for investment, while ensuring domestic firms feel safe investing funds, Yin Yanlin, deputy director of the General Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission told the Global Times in an earlier interview. 

The work report of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, last week pledged to accelerate the formation of a law aimed at promoting the development of the private sector, sending a strong signal of lawmakers' commitment to making continuous improvements in the business environment.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed the private investment in fixed assets slipped 0.4 percent in 2023 from the previous year.

The campaign launched by CAC also highlighted that it will regulate content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) on the internet. 

The work specifically includes the identification of AI-generated content, optimization of the business network environment, rectification of the confusion around enterprise-related infringement on private information, cracking down on illegal internet news and information services, as well as rectification of false and vulgar livestreaming content.

In terms of AI, the cyberspace regulatoe urged website platforms to mark AI-generated information and tag fictional content, as well as handle illegal accounts that use generative or synthetic algorithm technology to create rumors and marketing hype.

This year, AI-related industries in China are expected to see significant development, in which the application of generative AI technology is a particular focus, Wang Peng, an associate research fellow from the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

"This means it is necessary to improve regulatory policies to ensure the responsible use of AI technologies and protect data privacy," Wang said.
An interim regulation on the management of generative AI services went into effect in August 2023. The CAC said that the move was aimed at promoting the sound development of generative AI and its standard applications, safeguarding national security and social public interests, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal entities and organizations.

China's first comprehensive AI regulation, named Interim Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services, covers an array of measures aimed at enhancing generative AI technology while establishing basic norms for providers of generative AI services.