China terminates 14,624 illegal websites in 2023

BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- A total of 14,624 illegal websites were terminated and 127,878 accounts were banned in line with the law in China in 2023, said the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) on Wednesday.

A total of 10,646 websites were summoned for talks, and 453 websites were ordered to suspend their functions and updates. In addition, the cyberspace departments at all levels removed 259 mobile applications and shut down 119 mini-programs, together with the telecommunications authorities.

Cyberspace departments at all levels launched a series of operations to crack down on illegal activities such as the spread of online violence, disinformation and pornography, focusing on rectifying the bad guidance of self-media and short videos, and cracking down on infringement of enterprises' legitimate rights and interests that undermine the business environment.

The cyberspace departments also cleaned up the cyber environment for minors, standardized the applications of generative artificial intelligence, and promptly investigated and punished some website platforms and accounts that spread illegal information, disrupted the order of cyberspace and had negative social impacts.

The cyberspace system has also stepped up law-enforcement to investigate and punish some companies that failed to fulfill network security and data security obligations according to laws and regulations, and delisted several mobile applications that illegally handled personal information, said the CAC.