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China’s leading web regulator revealed on Monday(September 22, 2025) a sweeping two-month crackdown on social networks, pledging to fight material including “malicious incitement of conflict” and “negative outlooks on life such as world-weariness.”
Beijing needs social networks business to moderate material on their platforms, with posts strictly managed to prevent anything considered to be too subversive, repulsive, adult or usually damaging.
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The notification from the Cyberspace Administration of China(CAC)follows statements of charges this month versus 3 popular digital platforms, which it stated had actually disregarded content management responsibilities.
On Saturday (September 20, 2025), the CAC stated it would perform “disciplinary and punitive measures” versus micro-blogging platform Weibo and brief video platform Kuaishouimplicating them of highlighting star news and “undesirable” material.
The statement followed comparable action taken by the CAC on September 11, 2025, versus the Instagram-like Xiaohongshureferred to as Rednote in English. Authorities have actually not defined what punitive actions are being taken versus the 3 platforms.
The two-month project– whose start date was not defined in Monday’s (September 22, 2025) declaration– intends “to regulate the malicious incitement of conflict and the promotion of violence and vicious currents,” the CAC stated.
The declaration then noted particular online problems authorities intend to take on in the crackdown. They consist of “exploiting social hot spots to forcibly associate identity, region or gender with other information, stigmatising and hyping them.”
In practice, this might indicate a clampdown on posts about discrimination. In July, regional authorities in eastern Zhejiang province alerted comics versus stimulating gender discord through stand-up regimens that joked about the fight of the sexes.
Other issues targeted by the project consist of distributing “rumours” about the economy, financing, social well-being and public law. Weibo has actually formerly alerted versus publishing “pessimistic” views about the economy, social networks users informed AFP in late 2023.
Monday’s (September 22, 2025) notification likewise discussed “maliciously interpreting social phenomena, unilaterally exaggerating negative individual cases and exploiting them to promote negative outlooks on life such as world-weariness.”
That might be viewed as a recommendation to “lying flat” or “letting it rot” culture– extensive expressions utilized by young Chinese to explain way of lives that snub gruelling work culture in favour of relaxing.
“The crackdown intends to “promote a more civilised and logical online environment,” the declaration stated.
