Chinese telecoms regulator the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has issued amendments to the draft Regulation on Internet Information Services altering the obligations of internet information service providers (IISPs) and internet access service providers (IASPs). Data Guidance reports that IASPs would be required to retain published information for a period of six months, whilst IISPs and IASPs would record log information, and hold the data for twelve months. Regulations would also require providers to ensure that web users wishing to post public content first register with their true identity. Further, IISPs and IASPs would be obliged to maintain the confidentiality of users’ information.
The legislation would allow the Chinese state to monitor, regulate and censor web content published from within the People’s Republic of China (PRC).