VI.Internet Short Video Platform
In view of the substantial growth in the user scale of short videos, the relevant legal policies and compliance requirements of new media and short videos have become an extremely important part of the entertainment law.In this section, the relevant laws and policies so far will be reviewed especially for reference.
The Internet platform for providing short video services shall strictly abide by laws and regulations and industry management norms.The Internet platform shall hold the relevant qualifications stipulated in laws,regulations and policies such as the “Permit for Spreading Audio-Visual Programs via Information Network” and conduct business strictly within the scope of business specif ied in the permit.The business conduct shall comply with the Regulations on Administration of Internet Audio and Video Information Services (No.3 [2019] of the National Internet Information Office) issued by the National Internet Information Office, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the State Administration of Radio and Television, which took effect on January 1, 2020, and the Specifications on Management of Internet Short Video Platform issued by China Internet Audio-Visual Program Service Association which took effect on January 9,2019.
6.1 Compliance Requirements for Internet Audio-Visual Information Services Providers
Internet audio-visual information services refer to the services of producing, publishing, and disseminating audio and video information to the public through Internet platforms such as Internet sites and applications.
Internet audio-visual information services providers refer to organizations or individuals that provide Internet audio-visual information services to the general public.Specific compliance requirements are as follows:
(1) Real name authentication.The Internet audio-visual Information services providers shall authenticate users’ identity information based on their organization code, ID number, and mobile phone number.If the user does not provide real identity information, the Internet audio-visual information services providers shall not provide it with information publishing services.
(2) Prohibited activities.The Internet audio-visual Information services provider or any other organization or person is prohibited to use Internet audio-visual information services and related information technologies to engage in activities prohibited by laws and regulations that endanger national security, undermine social stability, disrupt social order, or infringe on the legal rights and interests of others.Information content, prohibited by laws and regulations such as the content inciting subversion of state power, endangering political security and social stability, online rumors, obscenity, and the content infringing on others’rights of reputation, portrait rights, privacy rights, intellectual property rights and other legitimate rights and interests, shall not be produced,published, or transmitted.
(3) Safety assessment.The Internet audio-visual Information services provider shall launch the Internet audio-visual information services with media attributes or social mobilization functions based on new technologies and new applications such as deep learning and virtual reality, or to adjust and add related functions, a safety assessment shall be carried out in accordance with relevant regulations.
(4) Production, release and dissemination of new technologies and applications such as deep learning and virtual reality.Internet audio-visual information services providers and users who use new technologies and applications based on deep learning and virtual reality to produce,publish, and disseminate non-real audio-visual information should be marked in a prominent way.
(5) Information management.The Internet audio-visual Information services providers shall strengthen the management of audio-visual information released by users of Internet audio-visual information services, deploy and apply identification technologies of illegal audios and videos as well as non-real audios and videos.Anyone who finds that audio-visual information services users have produced, published, or disseminated information prohibited by laws and regulations shall stop transmitting the information, take measures such as eliminating the content, preventing the information from spreading, keeping relevant records, and reporting it to the administrative departments of cyberspace,culture and tourism, radio and television.Anyone who finds that the content of the information does not meet the requirements shall immediately stop transmitting the information, and marking it in a prominent way before continuing to transmit this information.
(6) Establishment and improvement of the rumor removal mechanisms.If the Internet audio-visual Information services providers find that users of Internet audio-visual information services use false images,audio and video generation technologies based on deep learning and virtual reality to produce, publish, and spread rumors, corresponding rumor removal measures shall be taken in a timely manner, and relevant information shall be reported to the departments of cyberspace, culture and tourism, radio and television for record-filing.
(7) Service agreements signing and user behavior monitoring.The Internet audio-visual information services providers shall specify the rights and obligations of both parties in the service agreement with the user,and require the user to abide by these regulations and relevant laws.For users who violate relevant laws and regulations and service agreements,the provider shall take measures such as warning for rectification, restricting functions, suspending updates, closing accounts, keeping relevant records, and report to the departments of cyberspace, cultural and tourism, radio and television departments.
(8) Establishment of a complaint reporting mechanism.The Internet audio-visual information services providers shall consciously accept social supervision, set up a convenient complaint entry portal, publish information such as complaints and reporting methods, and promptly accept and handle public complaints and reports.
6.2 Compliance Requirements for Internet Platforms that Spread Short Video Services
In view of the rapid development of the short video service market,this chapter refers to the Specifications on Management of Internet Short Video Platform issued by China Internet Audio-Visual Program Service Association (the legal effect belongs to the industry norms formulated by the association), which took effect on January 9, 2019, for reference of the network short video platform.
6.2.1 Uploading (Cooperative) Account Management Specifications
①Implement a real-name certification management system.For programs uploaded by institution registered accounts (referred to as Professionally-Generated Content, PGC), the organization code certificate and other information should be verified; for programs uploaded by individual registered accounts (referred to as User-Generated Content,UGC), personal identification information such as ID card should be verif ied.
②Only after the Internet short video platform signs the standardized cooperation agreement with the institution and individual registered with the platform, can the upload function be opened.
③For PGC institutions that hold the Permit for Spreading Audio-Visual Programs via Information Network, the Internet short video platform shall monitor whether the programs uploaded by them are within the business scope specified in the Permit.The platform shall stop cooperation with anyone who uploads a program beyond the permitted scope.Programs uploaded by PGC institutions that do not hold the Permit for Spreading Audio-Visual Programs via Information Network can only be used as program materials for short video platforms, which can be used with authorization after passing the examination by the Internet short video platform.
④The “List of Uploading Accounts in Violation of Laws and Regulations” shall be established.For the UGC account that uploads programs containing illegal contents more than three times a week and the UGC account that uploads programs containing severe illegal contents, the platform shall include its identity information, portrait, account name and other information into the “List of Uploading Accounts in Violation of Laws and Regulations”.
⑤An information sharing mechanism shall be implemented for the“List of Uploading Accounts in Violation of Laws and Regulations”.For those who are listed in the “List of Uploading Accounts in Violation of Laws and Regulations”, each Internet short video platform shall not provide an upload account for them within a specif ied period.(https://www.daowen.com)
⑥According to the seriousness of uploading behavior of the illegal programs, the suspension period of the persons included in the “List of Uploading Accounts in Violation of Laws and Regulations” is divided into three levels as one year, three years and permanent.
6.2.2 Technical Management Specifications
①The Internet short video platform shall reasonably design the intelligent feed system and give priority to recommending positive contents.
②The Internet short video platform shall adopt new technical means,such as user portraits, face recognition, fingerprint recognition, etc., to ensure the implementation of the real-name account management system.
③The Internet short video platform shall establish a minor protection mechanism, using technical means to limit the online time of minors, and shall set up a parental guardianship system for minors to effectively prevent minors from becoming addicted to short videos.
6.3 Internet Short Video Content Examination
The examination of the program content by the Internet short video platforms shall be conducted in accordance with the content standards formulated by the State Administration of Radio and Television and the China Internet Audio-Visual Program Service Association.According to the Specifications on Management of Internet Short Video Platform, the Internet Short Video Platform shall make the following specifications for short video content:
6.3.1 General Requirements
①The Internet short video platform shall actively introduce mainstream news media, party, government, military, and other organizations to open accounts to increase the supply of positive high-quality short video contents.
②The Internet short video platform shall establish an editor-in-chief content management responsibility system.
③The Internet short video platform shall implement the system of review first and broadcast after.All short videos broadcast on the platform shall be broadcast after content review, including the review of title,introduction, barrage, and comments of the program.
④To launch short video services on an Internet platform, a team of examiners with high political quality and strong business ability shall be established synchronously according to the business scale.Examiners shall undergo training organized by administrative departments of radio and television at or above the provincial level.The number of examiners shall match the number of short videos uploaded and broadcast.In principle, the number of examiners shall be more than 0.1% of the number of new short videos broadcast daily on the platform.
6.3.2 Content Management Specifications
①In terms of content layout, the platform focus on the promotion of the core values of socialism, strengthening the setting of positive issues and strengthening the construction and storage of positive contents.
②Fulfill copyright protection responsibilities.It is not allowed to edit, or adapt all kinds of radio and television audio-visual works such as movies, TV series, online movies, and online dramas, etc.without authorization.It is not allowed to forward all kinds of clips of radio and television audio-visual works uploaded by UGC, such as movies, TV series, online films, online dramas, etc.Without the copyright certificate provided by the PGC organization, it is also not allowed to forward all kinds of clips of radio and television audio-visual works uploaded by PGC institutions such as movies, TV series, online films, online dramas,etc.
③The Internet short video platform shall comply with the national news program management regulations, and shall not forward current political and social news short video programs uploaded by UGC; shall not forward current political affairs and social news short video programs uploaded by PGC institutions that have not yet been verified whether they have the qualifications for the first release of audio-visual news programs.
④The Internet short video platform shall not forward clips from movies, TV series, and online films and dramas that have not yet been approved for broadcast by the state, as well as clips from radio and television programs and Internet programs that have been explicitly prohibited by the state.
Further, in addition to complying with the content review standards for Internet audio-visual programs, short videos shall also comply with the one hundred rules specif ied in the Standard Details of Internet Short Video Content Review.Take “contents that damage the image of the country” as an example, prohibited matters include: derogating, tarnishing,and spoofing the image, spirit, and temperament of the Chinese state and nation; insulting the national flag and national emblem by burning,damaging, smearing, tarnishing, trampling, spoofing, etc.
With the promulgation of a series of laws and policies related to foreign investment, foreign investors entering China can gain more development and development opportunities.According to the new policy released at the end of 2019, the examination and approval of foreign investment in telecommunications business (type II value-added telecommunications business) in the free trade zone has been fully simplified.After the foreign investor implementing the notification commitment on the basic information, capital contribution ratio, and type of business to be applied for, an approval decision will be made on the spot.It is recommended that foreign entities fully understand the policy in conjunction with their own business models and purposes to obtain maximum policy support.
In view of the wide range of Internet audio-visual programs, the continuous updating of laws, regulations and policies, and the strict and detailed review of program content, it is advised for readers to understand the relevant laws, regulations and policies when engaging in Internet audio-visual related services, and to seek legal professional advice to keep their actions in check and monitor compliance of program content.
