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Showing posts from September, 2017

Translation: Provisions on the Administration of Internet Public Account Information Services

Provisions on the Administration of Internet Public Account Information Services Issued on: September 7, 2017 Issued by: Cyberspace Administration of China Source: http://www.cac.gov.cn/2017-09/07/c_1121624269.htm Article 1. In order to standardize Internet public account information services, safeguard national security and the public interest, protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations, these Provisions are hereby formulated in accordance with the "Cyber Security Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "State Council Notice Regarding Authorizing the Cyberspace Administration of China to Assume Responsibility for the Management of Internet Information Content." Article 2. These Provisions shall apply to the provision and utilization Internet public account information services within the territory of the People's Republic of China. As used in these Provisions, the term "Internet publ

Translation: Provisions on the Administration of Internet Group Information Services

Provisions on the Administration of Internet Group Information Services Issued on: September 7, 2017 Issued by: Cyberspace Administration of China Source: http://www.cac.gov.cn/2017-09/07/c_1121623889.htm Article 1. In order to standardize Internet group information services, safeguard  national security and the public interest, protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations, these Provisions are hereby formulated in accordance with the "Cyber Security Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "State Council Notice Regarding Authorizing the Cyberspace Administration of China to Assume Responsibility for the Management of Internet Information Content." Article 2. These Provisions shall apply to the provision and utilization Internet group information services within the territory of the People's Republic of China.   As used in these Provisions, the term "Internet group information services&q

Man Jailed Seven Months for Saving ISIS Videos on Phone and Baidu Cloud Storage

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On September 8, 2017, the People's Court of China website posted the judgment of a court in Beijing imposing a seven month prison sentence on Duan Zheng on the grounds that he violated Article 120-6 of China's Criminal Law (illegal possession of materials promoting terrorism and extremism) for saving seven terrorist videos on his cell phone and his Baidu cloud storage account. In reaching its judgment the court noted: There was no evidence that Duan distributed or shared the videos or showed them to anyone else. Duan used VPN software to "climb over the wall" to access the overseas websites from which he downloaded the videos.  The court rejected Duan’s defense that he downloaded the videos out of curiosity and because he found them exciting, notwithstanding the fact that he had also downloaded videos of car accidents with graphic violence. Duan “should have been able to discern” that the content of the videos at issue promoted terrorism and extremism. The onl

Man Jailed for Providing Islamic Instruction on Tencent’s WeChat Messaging Service

On June 12, 2017, the People's Court of China website posted the judgment of a court in Xinjiang which upheld a two year prison sentence for Huang Shike on the grounds that he violated Article 287-1 of China's Criminal Law (“illegal use of information networks”) when he used two WeChat (Weixin) groups to “carry out discussion and instruction of religious texts.” The court cited the following specific actions of Huang as grounds for his conviction: He once taught others how to pray; He discussed how there was support in the Koran for the animal sacrifices made at the Gadhimai Festival. The court also stated that WeChat groups were “non-religious venues” and that “it is not permitted to engage in religious activities in non-religious venues.” China’s Criminal Law was amended in November 2015 to add Article 287-1, which provides as follows: Article 287-1 [The Crime of Illegal Use of Information Networks]   1. whoever commits one of the following acts through the use of