Recently, in response to the chaos of pushing pop-ups of this type of Internet pop-ups, the National Cyberspace Administration of China , the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the State Administration for Market Regulation recently jointly issued the " Internet pop-up information push service management regulations " (hereinafter referred to as the "Management Regulations"), which will come into effect on September 30, 2022.
The "Management Regulations" define "Internet pop-up information push service" and "Internet pop-up information push service provider". The former refers to the information push service provided to Internet users in the form of pop-up message windows through operating systems, application software, websites, etc.; the latter refers to the organization or individual of Internet pop-up information push service.
The "Management Regulations" propose that Internet pop-up information push service providers should implement the main responsibility for information content management, establish and improve four management systems, including information content review, ecological governance, data security and personal information protection, and minor protection . Article 5 clearly stipulates that Internet pop-up information push service must strictly fulfill nine compliance obligations.
1. The illegal and bad information stipulated in the " Network Information Content Ecological Governance Regulations " shall not be pushed, especially the malicious hype of entertainment gossip, scandal privacy, extravagance to show off wealth, and ugliness to pretend to be ugly. The content of that violates the public order and customs of shall not be pushed in a certain topic with the purpose of malicious hype.
Currently, many online pop-up information involves entertainment gossip, scandal privacy, obscene pornography and other information. Some pop-ups also hide malicious plug-ins and Trojan virus , which in turn steals personal privacy.
Article 6 of the "Regulations on Ecological Governance of Network Information Content" implemented on March 1, 2020 specifically stipulates that in addition to content prohibited by laws and administrative regulations, there are ten red lines prohibited by online information content producers: 1. opposes the basic principles determined by the Constitution; 2. endangers national security, leaks state secrets, subverts state power, and undermines national unity; 3. damages national honor and interests; 4. distorts, vilifies, blaspheme, denies the deeds and spirits of heroes and martyrs, and infringes on the names, portraits and reputations of heroes and martyrs by insulting, slanders or other means. , honor; 5 is that promotes terrorism, extremism or incites terrorist activities or extremist activities; 6 is that incites national hatred, ethnic discrimination, and undermines national unity; 7 is that undermines national religious policies, promotes cults and feudal superstitions; 8 is that spreads rumors and disrupts economic order and social order; 9 is that disseminates obscene, pornography, gambling, violence, murder, terror or instigates crimes; 10 is that insults or slanders others, infringes on the reputation, privacy and other legitimate rights and interests of others.
"Regulations on Ecological Governance of Network Information Content" requires that online information content producers should take measures to prevent and resist the production, copying and publish bad information containing the following nine categories of content: , uses exaggerated titles, and the content is seriously inconsistent with the title; , , hypes scandals, scandals, bad deeds, etc.; , , improperly comments on natural disasters, major accidents and other disasters; , , has sexual hints and sexual challenges. , has sexual hints and sexual challenges. Funny and other things are easy to cause sexual associations; is that shows bloody, horror, cruelty and other physical and mental discomfort; 6 is inciting people to discriminate against the masses, regional discrimination, etc.; is 7 is that promotes vulgar, vulgar, and kitsch content; is 8 is that may cause minors to imitate unsafe behaviors and violate social morality, and induce bad habits of minors; is 9 is other contents that have adverse effects on the network ecology.
2. If the Internet news information service license is not obtained, the pop-up window shall not push news information. If the pop-up window push information involves other Internet information services, it shall be reviewed and approved by the relevant competent authorities or obtained the relevant license in accordance with the law, the relevant competent authorities shall be reviewed and approved by the relevant competent authorities or obtained the relevant license.
According to the requirements of the "Regulations on the Management of Internet News Information Services", Internet news information services shall be provided to the public through Internet sites, applications, forums, blogs, microblogs, public accounts, instant communication tools, online live broadcasts, etc. You shall obtain an Internet news information service license and prohibit the conduct of Internet news information service activities without permission or beyond the scope of the license. The Internet news information services here include Internet news information collection, editing and publishing services, reprinting services, and dissemination platform services.
Without obtaining the Internet news information service license, Internet pop-up information push service providers are not allowed to push news information in pop-ups. This is a legal red line. Internet pop-up information push service providers are not allowed to touch it at any time. should point out that except for Internet news information services, other Internet information services are value-added telecommunications service services. To provide Internet information services, they must obtain the telecommunications business license of the telecommunications department or file it with the telecommunications department. Therefore, the "Management Regulations" specifically require that if pop-up information involves other Internet information services, it should be reviewed and approved by the relevant competent authorities or obtained relevant licenses in accordance with the law, it should be reviewed and approved by the relevant competent authorities or obtained relevant licenses.
3. If the news information is pushed in pop-up windows, it shall strictly follow the " Internet News Information Release Units" published by of National Internet Information Office. It shall not be reproduced beyond the scope, nor shall it be distorted or tampered with the original meaning of the title and the content of the news information to ensure that the source of the news information is traceable.
In October 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China publicly released the "List of Internet News Information Release Units", which covers a total of 1,358 manuscript sources, including central news websites, central news units, industry media, local news websites, local news units and government affairs publishing platforms. The above Internet news information service units with Internet news information collection and editing service qualifications are mainly newspapers, radio stations, television stations, news agencies and news film studios established in accordance with the law, and three types of units such as official publishing platforms opened by party and government agencies can apply to join the "List of Internet News Information Release Units".
must be emphasized that even if a news unit included in the "List of Internet News Information Source Units", can push news information in pop-up windows, but it must not be reproduced beyond the scope, and it must not distort or tamper with the original meaning and content of the title to ensure that the news source is traceable and the news information is true, objective and comprehensive.
4. Improve the diversity of information pushing in pop-up windows, scientifically set the proportion of news information and vertical content, reflect the mainstream values of positive, healthy and upward. It is not allowed to push or speculate on social hot and sensitive events, vicious cases, disasters and accidents, etc., to cause social panic.
Currently, the proportion of Internet pop-up information push information and vertical content is unbalanced. The proportion of Internet vertical fields that specialize in deepening content in one field is too high, and it continues to extend according to a specific field. However, the proportion of mainstream values that reflect positive, healthy and upward trends is not high, which affects the credibility of mainstream media. According to the 50th "HTM1 China Internet Development Statistical Report " released by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), as of June 2022, the number of Internet users in my country was 1.051 billion, and the Internet penetration rate reached 74.4%.
The Internet has become the main battlefield of public opinion of the Party and the state. The press should focus on socialist core value system , clearly adhere to the social responsibility of the media, grasp the correct, positive and healthy value orientation, and push positive and upward mainstream value content. "Management Regulations" emphasize that it is not allowed to push or hype up social hot and sensitive incidents, exaggerate vicious cases, disasters, etc., and cause social panic. In fact, there are crowds of pushing and hyping up sensitive social events on the Internet, exaggerating vicious cases, disasters and accidents, and deliberately using certain "hot spots" and "sensitive" events to attract the audience's attention. Many of these information are false and useless information, which loses the timely, accurate and true nature of the news. Especially hype of vicious cases and disasters not only has a huge negative impact on netizens, but also triggers social panic, which must be strictly prohibited.
55. Improve the management specifications for pop-up information push content, improve the workflow of information screening, editing, pushing, etc., equip the review force that is compatible with the service scale, and strengthen the review of pop-up information content.
Internet pop-up information push service providers should set up a person in charge of pop-up information push governance, and be equipped with professionals who are compatible with the business scope and service scale to manage pop-up information content, establish and improve the compliance management specifications for pop-up information push content, and continuously improve the compliance and ethical literacy of pop-up information push personnel. At the same time, it is necessary to improve the workflow of information screening, editing, pushing, etc., and the content pushed by pop-up information cannot be only automated. It must be equipped with audit forces that are compatible with the service scale to ensure that the content pushed by pop-up information is standardized and compliant.
6. Protect user rights and interests, and clearly inform users of the specific form, content frequency, cancellation channels of pop-up information push services through service agreements, fully consider user experience, scientifically plan the push frequency, and do not unreasonably differential push to ordinary users and member users. Do not interfere or affect users in any form to close pop-up information. The pop-up information should be significantly marked with the identity of the pop-up information push service provider.
According to statistics, more than 90% of netizens in my country are interfered with bad information. Computers or mobile phones often receive unknown information, web pop-ups and online game plug-ins, which seriously affect users' online peace.
First of all, the pop-up information push service provider must accurately grasp the push link. The Internet pop-up information push service provider should clearly inform users of the specific methods, content frequency, cancellation channels, etc. of the pop-up information push service through service agreements and other methods.
Secondly, the "Management Regulations" require: "Full consider user experience, scientifically plan the push frequency, and unreasonable differential pushes for ordinary users and member users are not allowed." In fact, the proliferation of pop-up information push not only affects people's mood and work efficiency, but also poses security risks, which have seriously affected users' experience of online access. The frequency of pop-up information pushing must be strictly controlled. Some Internet pop-up information push service providers push pop-up information to ordinary users much more frequently than member users, and implement unreasonable differential treatment. These behaviors must be strictly prohibited. According to the "PC application software network pop-up window survey report ", 46% of consumers reported that the network pop-up window has a great impact on daily use or work, and is very disgusted.
Third, an institution has conducted a survey. Among the 30 application software downloaded from official channels, 13 of them have pop-ups of the Internet, accounting for 43% of the total survey. The main problem that makes consumers disgusted is that pop-up information pushers try every means to interfere with users closing the pop-up window. The root cause of this is the chain of interests behind the pop-up information. Driven by interests, some pop-up information constantly touches the legal red line. Taking pop-up ad push as an example, some surveys show that operating pop-up ads make a lot of profits, and investing 20,000 yuan to pop-up 1 million times; some charge based on the number of clicks from the audience, and each click is charged 0.1 yuan to 0.3 yuan.
7. Algorithm models that induce users to indulge, over-consumption, etc., that violate laws and regulations or violate ethics and morals; algorithms shall not be used to maliciously block information, excessive recommendations, etc.; algorithms shall not be used to portrait minor users and push information that may affect their physical and mental health.
In fact, the logic behind the Internet pop-up push is the content-based "Algorithm Recommendations CB", that is, the system obtains user data from massive data, and recommends similar content to users based on content that users like or searched in the past. The measurement of content similarity is the core of the algorithm application process. At present, there are a large number of situations in the promotion of Internet pop-up algorithms that violate laws and regulations or ethics. In order to enhance user stickiness and cater to users' preferences, some pop-up algorithm recommendation services constantly choose to push information that users are interested in for pop-ups, resulting in users being addicted to the Internet and over-consumption.
Article 8 of the "Regulations on the Management of Algorithms for the Recommendation of Internet Information Services" implemented on March 1, 2021 requires that algorithm recommendation service providers shall regularly review, evaluate, and verify the mechanism, model, data and application results of the algorithm, etc., and shall not set up algorithm models that induce users to indulge and over-consumption, such as violation of laws and regulations or morality.
Personalized pop-up service is to use algorithm recommendations to actively provide users with targeted information services that can meet users' personalized information needs. This service itself is a personalized information service provided to users. However, some network pop-up information push service agencies abuse algorithms to promote and implement forms such as blocking information, over-recommendation, and manipulating lists, seriously interfering in the normal presentation of information. This abuse of algorithms is not only illegal, but also violates ethics.
is firmly prohibited from using algorithms to portrait minors, and push pop-up information that affects their physical and mental health to minors, especially products and services that induce minors to be addicted to. The "Regulations on the Management of Algorithms for Recommendation of Internet Information Services" clearly requires that algorithm recommendation service provider shall not push information to minors that may cause minors to imitate unsafe behaviors and violate social morality , induce minors' bad habits, and other information that may affect the physical and mental health of minors, and shall not use algorithm recommendation services to induce minors to be addicted to the Internet.
8. When pushing advertising information in pop-up windows, it should be recognizable and clearly indicate the "advertising" and the closing sign to ensure that pop-up ads are closed with one click.
In the push of Internet pop-up information, the chaos in Internet pop-up advertisements is the most serious, especially when pop-ups, they are not marked as "advertising". At present, "pop-up ads" are veritable online "pangle moss". They not only push a large amount of bad information such as false and illegal advertisements, but also involve deceiving and inducing users to click on advertising content. According to the Advertising Law , advertisements should be recognizable and enable consumers to identify them as advertisements, not news or other information. To this end, the "Management Regulations" require that "when pushing advertising information in pop-up windows should be recognizable."
The most prominent problem in pop-up advertising information is that it is difficult to close pop-up advertisements, which seriously affects and interferes with users' normal use of the network. In this regard, Article 44, Paragraph 2 of the Advertising Law stipulates that publishing and sending advertisements using the Internet shall not affect users' normal use of the Internet. Ads posted in the form of pop-ups on Internet pages should be marked with a close sign to ensure that they are closed with one click. The "ensure one-click closing" established by the advertising law has four meanings: one is to clearly indicate the word "advertising"; the second is to set up a closing button; the third is to remind users of the position of the closing button in a conspicuous manner, and the closing button settings must not be blurred or almost invisible; the fourth is to be regarded as permanent closing as long as it is closed once.
Although the Advertising Law stipulates that "if the violation of the provisions of Article 44, paragraph 2 and publishing advertisements using the Internet without significantly indicating the closure sign to ensure one-click closure, the market supervision and management department shall order the correction and impose a fine of not less than RMB 5,000 and not more than RMB 30,000" for violators, such a penalty regulation is too low for violations, and it is difficult to solve the current situation of difficulty in closing pop-up windows.
9. No third-party links, QR codes and other information that are maliciously diverted and jumped through pop-up information must be presented. Users must not be induced to click through pop-up information push services, and traffic fraud and traffic hijacking must be implemented.
Currently, some pop-up information often maliciously diverts and jumps to third-party links or QR code information, and even push services to induce users to click, implement traffic fraud and traffic hijacking. Users often encounter this situation when using the Internet. When you click on Baidu website to search for information, they inexplicably jump to other websites. At this time, your traffic is hijacked during the jump process, and you have not achieved your goal of "checking information" on Baidu website. This is a typical "traffic hijacking".
The behavior of forcing target jumps through Internet pop-up information push is unfair competition. Article 12 of the newly revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law in 2019 stipulates that operators shall not use technical means to implement four types of behaviors that hinder or destroy the normal operation of network products or services legally provided by other operators by affecting user selection or other means. The first type is "Insert links in network products or services legally provided by them without the consent of other operators, and force target jumps."
Creating false traffic and implementing traffic hijacking is not only an act of disrupting the ecological order of the network, but also an unfair competition. At present, data traffic fraud is becoming increasingly rampant, especially prominent in e-commerce shopping, advertising, online live streaming, "fan circle" culture, online literature, self-media, etc. It has formed a huge black industry chain, seriously undermining the fair competition market order.
Article 24 of the "Regulations on Ecological Governance of Network Information Content" stipulates that users of network information content services, producers of network information content, and network information content service platforms shall not perform traffic fraud, traffic hijacking, false registration of accounts, illegal transactions of accounts, manipulation of user accounts through manual or technical means, and disrupt the ecological order of the network. Anyway, the Competition Law clearly requires that operators shall not help other operators conduct false or misleading commercial publicity by organizing false transactions or other means.
From: People's Posts and Telecommunications
