SAIC issues final version of internet advertising measures | Practical Law

SAIC issues final version of internet advertising measures | Practical Law

The SAIC has issued a set of measures to supplement the Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China and regulate online commercial messaging.

SAIC issues final version of internet advertising measures

Practical Law UK Legal Update 0-631-1005 (Approx. 3 pages)

SAIC issues final version of internet advertising measures

by Practical Law China
Published on 19 Jul 2016 • China
The SAIC has issued a set of measures to supplement the Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China and regulate online commercial messaging.
On 4 July 2016, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) issued the final version of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising (互联网广告管理暂行办法). The interim measures will take effect beginning 1 September 2016 and supplement the Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China 2015 (2015 Advertising Law). The SAIC circulated a draft of the interim measures in July 2015.
The interim measures does not contain provisions contained in the previous draft that required:
  • Internet advertisers and advertising operators (intermediaries) to register with the SAIC.
  • Internet advertising publishers to display opt out and other user choice functionality.
  • Celebrity promoters to disclose their compensation.
The interim measures apply to all forms of direct or indirect commercial advertising in the form of text, image, audio, video or others through a website, webpage, internet application or other online media, including, for example, display ads, email solicitations and paid searches (Article 3).
The final version of the interim measures contain the following requirements:
  • No entity or individual may design, produce, act as agent for, or publish any advertisement on the internet, for goods or services prohibited for production, sale, provision or being advertised under Chinese law (Article 5).
  • Internet advertisements for prescription drugs and tobacco are prohibited (Article 5).
  • Internet advertising, including paid search results, must be marked and easily identifiable as an advertisement (Article 7).
  • Pop ups must have an obvious close button (Article 8).
  • No advertisement or advertisement link shall be attached to the emails without permission from the recipient (Article 8).
  • Internet advertisers are responsible for the authenticity of advertising content (Article 10).
  • Internet advertising operators (intermediaries) and publishers are responsible for:
    • verifying the certification documents of internet advertisers;
    • examining the content of advertisements;
    • registering the name, address, contact information and other identity information of advertisers; and
    • maintaining and updating those records of internet advertisers.
    (Article 12.)
  • It is prohibited to intercept, filter, cover, fast forward or take other restrictive measures in relation to internet advertisements or block, filter or otherwise impair the normal transmission of advertisements (Article 16(1)).
  • No advertisement may contain deceptive links or information that induces a false offer, seeks illegitimate interests or harms the interests of others (Article 16(3)).
For more information on the previous draft of the interim measures, see Legal update, SAIC releases draft internet advertising measures for public comment.
For more information on the 2015 Advertising Law, see Practice note, Advertising law in China.
Source: SAIC website: Interim Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising (互联网广告管理暂行办法)