Internet in China

{{Short description|none}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}} {{internet}} {{Politics of China |expanded = Publicity }} The People's Republic of China has been on the Internet intermittently since May 1989 and on a permanent basis since 20 April 1994.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edu.cn/introduction_1378/20060323/t20060323_4285.shtml|title=中国教育和科研计算机网CERNET|website=Edu.cn|access-date=15 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527120608/http://www.edu.cn/introduction_1378/20060323/t20060323_4285.shtml|archive-date=27 May 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2008, China became the country with the largest population on the Internet; {{as of|2025|lc=y}}, it has remained so.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Li |first=David Daokui |title=China's World View: Demystifying China to Prevent Global Conflict |date=2024 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0393292398 |location=New York, NY |author-link=David Daokui Li}}</ref>{{Rp|page=18}} {{As of|2024|12|post=,}} 1.09 billion people (77.5% of the country's total population) use the internet.

China's first foray into the global cyberspace was an email (not TCP/IP based and thus technically not internet) sent on 20 September 1987 to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, reading, "Across the Great Wall, towards the rest of the world" ({{zh|s=越过长城，走向世界|t=|p=Yuèguò chángchéng, zǒuxiàng shìjiè}}).<ref>{{cite web |url = http://big5.chinanews.com.cn:89/special/guoqing/60/2009/06-25/122.shtml |title = 中新網-共和國60週年大型專題策劃-中國接入網際網路 |access-date = 30 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130101104447/http://big5.chinanews.com.cn:89/special/guoqing/60/2009/06-25/122.shtml |archive-date=1 January 2013 }}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200801230406/http://news.sciencenet.cn/htmlnews/2017/9/388707.shtm 中国E-mail：值而立之年却未老先衰]. 科技日报. 19 September 2017.</ref> This later became a well-known phrase in China and {{as of|2018|lc=y}}, was displayed on the desktop login screen for QQ mail.<ref name="guar1">{{cite news |title=The great firewall of China: Xi Jinping's internet shutdown |first1=Elizabeth C |last1=Economy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/29/the-great-firewall-of-china-xi-jinpings-internet-shutdown |access-date=29 June 2018 |work=The Guardian |date=28 June 2018 |archive-date=10 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010172129/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/29/the-great-firewall-of-china-xi-jinpings-internet-shutdown |url-status=live }}</ref>

By law, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) governs the country's Internet. China's Internet is heavily censored by the government, with numerous foreign websites blocked by the Great Firewall. The Cyberspace Administration of China is the national internet regulator and censor. China requires a real-name system for Internet services and online platforms.

==History== [[File:P1994-2011.gif|thumb|left|Internet penetration rates in China in the context of East Asia and Southeast Asia, 1995–2012]]

From 1995 to 2004, internet use in China was almost entirely in urban areas.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Shi |first=Song |title=China and the Internet: Using New Media for Development and Social Change |date=2023 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=9781978834736 |location=New Brunswick, NJ}}</ref>{{Rp|page=3}} By 2003, less than 0.2% of rural people had used the internet.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=3}} In 2004, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology began the Connecting Every Village Project which promoted the use of telecommunications and internet in rural China. Beginning in late 2009, the program began building rural telecenters each of which had at least one telephone, computer, and internet connectivity.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=37–38}} Approximately 90,000 rural telecenters were built by 2011.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=38}} By 2011, 89% of administrative villages had internet access.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=3, 24}}

China replaced the U.S. in its global leadership in terms of installed telecommunication bandwidth in 2011. By 2014, China hosts more than twice as much national bandwidth potential than the U.S., the historical leader in terms of installed telecommunication bandwidth (China: 29% versus US: 13% of the global total).<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://escholarship.org/uc/item/2jp4w5rq|title=The bad news is that the digital access divide is here to stay: Domestically installed bandwidths among 172 countries for 1986–2014|first=Martin|last=Hilbert|date=1 June 2016|journal=Telecommunications Policy|volume=40|issue=6|pages=567–581|access-date=15 August 2018|doi=10.1016/j.telpol.2016.01.006|archive-date=4 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604191331/http://escholarship.org/uc/item/2jp4w5rq|url-status=live}}</ref>

China began implementing a National Broadband Strategy in 2013.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=90}} The program aimed to increase the speed, quality, and adoption of broadband and 4G networks.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=90}} As of 2018, 96% of administrative villages had fiber optic networks and 95% had 4G networks.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=90}}

Wireless, especially internet access through a mobile phone, has developed rapidly. The affordability of mobile phones and internet data in China has resulted in the number of mobile internet users in China surpassing the number of computer internet users.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Parzyan |first=Anahit |url= |title=China and Eurasian Powers in a Multipolar World Order 2.0: Security, Diplomacy, Economy and Cyberspace |date=2023 |publisher=Routledge |others=Mher Sahakyan |isbn=978-1-003-35258-7 |edition= |location=New York |pages= |chapter=China's Digital Silk Road: Empowering Capabilities for Digital Leadership in Eurasia |oclc=1353290533}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=178}} 500 million were accessing the internet via cell phones in 2013.<ref name="CNNIC33">{{cite web |title=第33次中国互联网络发展状况统计报告 |trans-title=33rd statistical report on Internet development in China |url=http://www.cnnic.cn/hlwfzyj/hlwxzbg/hlwtjbg/201401/t20140116_43820.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140119020216/http://www.cnnic.cn/hlwfzyj/hlwxzbg/hlwtjbg/201401/t20140116_43820.htm |archive-date=19 January 2014 |access-date=21 January 2014 |work=CNNIC}}</ref> The number of dial-up users peaked in 2004 and since then has decreased sharply.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} Generally statistics on the number of mobile internet users in China show a significant slump in the growth rate between 2008 and 2010, with a small peak in the next two years.<ref>[http://www.iresearchchina.com/views/3959.html China Mobile Internet Market] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130304061006/http://www.iresearchchina.com/views/3959.html |date=4 March 2013 }}, China Internet Network Information Center, iResearch. February 2012.</ref>

In 2015, the State Council promoted the Internet Plus initiative, a five-year plan to integrate traditional manufacturing and service industries with big data, cloud computing, and Internet of things technology.<ref name=":Zhang">{{Cite book |last=Zhang |first=Angela Huyue |title=High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2024 |isbn=9780197682258|doi=10.1093/oso/9780197682258.001.0001}}</ref>{{Rp|page=44}} The State Council provided support for Internet Plus through policy support in area including cross-border e-commerce and rural e-commerce.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=44}} Various regulatory bodies promoted Internet Plus within their sectors.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=44}}

In April 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) proposed that "satellite internet" should be a part of new national infrastructure. By the next month, Shanghai, Beijing, Fuzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, and Shenzhen had each proposed regional action plans to support the new satellite internet constellation project<ref name=cmn20200917>{{cite news |title=Chinese Commercial Rocket Startup Space Pioneer Secures Series A |url=https://www.chinamoneynetwork.com/2020/09/17/chinese-commercial-rocket-startup-space-pioneer-secures-series-a |work=China Money Network |date=17 September 2020 |access-date=31 July 2021 |archive-date=20 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220061604/https://www.chinamoneynetwork.com/2020/09/17/chinese-commercial-rocket-startup-space-pioneer-secures-series-a |url-status=live }}</ref> with a goal to provide domestic China satellite internet to rural areas.<ref name=sn20210727>{{cite news |title=Chinese rocket company Space Pioneer secures major funding ahead of first launch |url=https://spacenews.com/chinese-rocket-company-space-pioneer-secures-major-funding-ahead-of-first-launch/ |last=Jones |first=Andrew |work=SpaceNews |date=27 July 2021 |access-date=27 July 2021 |archive-date=27 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727183506/https://spacenews.com/chinese-rocket-company-space-pioneer-secures-major-funding-ahead-of-first-launch/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Beginning in 2019, US (SpaceX Starlink)<ref name=sfn20191111>{{cite news |title=Successful launch continues deployment of SpaceX's Starlink network |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/11/11/successful-launch-continues-deployment-of-spacexs-starlink-network/ |work=Spaceflight Now |date=11 November 2019 |access-date=27 July 2021 |archive-date=17 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117160301/https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/11/11/successful-launch-continues-deployment-of-spacexs-starlink-network/|url-status=live}}</ref> and UK (OneWeb, 2020)<ref name=cnn20200206>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/06/tech/oneweb-satellite-internet-launch-scn/index.html |date=6 February 2020 |title=The race for space-based broadband: OneWeb launches 34 more internet satellites |last=Wattles |first=Jackie |website=CNN |access-date=2020-02-07 |archive-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828212454/https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/06/tech/oneweb-satellite-internet-launch-scn/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="sn20200321">{{cite web|last1=Henry|first1=Caleb|date=21 March 2020|title=Soyuz launches 34 OneWeb satellites|url=https://spacenews.com/soyuz-launches-34-oneweb-satellites/|access-date=15 April 2020|website=spacenews.com|publisher=SpaceNews|archive-date=22 March 2020|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20200322121542/https://spacenews.com/soyuz-launches-34-oneweb-satellites/|url-status=live}}</ref> private companies had begun fielding large internet satellite constellations with global coverage; however China does not intend to license non-Chinese technical solutions for satellite broadband within the jurisdiction of Chinese law.<ref name=cbc20200619>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/spacex-high-speed-internet-1.5618918 |title=Elon Musk's company SpaceX applies to offer high-speed Internet service to Canadians |work=CBC News |date=19 June 2020 |access-date=27 July 2021 |archive-date=17 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117160154/https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/spacex-high-speed-internet-1.5618918 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Structure== An important characteristic of the Chinese internet is that online access routes are owned by the Chinese government, and private enterprises and individuals can only rent bandwidth from the state.<ref name=dkh>{{cite journal|last=Herold|first=David Kurt|title=Escaping the World: A Chinese Perspective on Virtual Worlds|journal=Journal of Virtual Worlds Research|date=September 2012|volume=5|issue=2|doi=10.4101/jvwr.v5i2.6206|doi-broken-date=3 April 2026 |hdl=10397/5785 |url=https://journals.tdl.org/jvwr/article/view/6206/6040|access-date=27 November 2017|doi-access=free|archive-date=1 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801025828/https://journals.tdl.org/jvwr/index.php/jvwr/article/view/6206/6040|url-status=live|hdl-access=free}}</ref> The first four major national networks, namely CSTNET, ChinaNet, CERNET and CHINAGBN, are the "backbone" of the mainland Chinese internet. Later dominant telecom providers also started to provide internet services. China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile control operate the internet exchange points through which incoming traffic must pass.<ref name=":Curtis&Klaus">{{Cite book |last1=Curtis |first1=Simon |title=The Belt and Road City: Geopolitics, Urbanization, and China's Search for a New International Order |last2=Klaus |first2=Ian |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300266900 |location=New Haven and London |publication-date=2024}}</ref>{{Rp|page=74}}

In January 2015, China added seven new access points to the world's internet backbone, adding to the three points that connect through Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.<ref>{{cite web|title = 7个新增国家级互联网骨干直联点建设全面竣工|url = http://www.miit.gov.cn/n11293472/n11293832/n11293907/n11368223/16402896.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150121025150/http://www.miit.gov.cn/n11293472/n11293832/n11293907/n11368223/16402896.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = 21 January 2015|website = www.miit.gov.cn|access-date = 28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = China expands Internet backbone to improve speeds, reliability|url = http://www.itworld.com/article/2868215/china-expands-internet-backbone-to-improve-speeds-reliability.html|website = ITworld|date = 13 January 2015|access-date = 28 November 2015|archive-date = 8 December 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151208110239/http://www.itworld.com/article/2868215/china-expands-internet-backbone-to-improve-speeds-reliability.html|url-status = live}}</ref>

As of 2023, the internet in China is characterized by uneven development, with the adoption rate and availability of the internet varying by region and population groups.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=5–7}}

==Userbase== [[File:Chinesisches Internetcafe Lijiang.jpg|thumb|Internet café in Lijiang City]] English-language media in China often use the word netizen to refer to Chinese internet users in particular.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |first=Brian |last=Fung |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/10/netizen-why-is-this-goofy-sounding-word-so-important-in-china/263245/ |title='Netizen': Why Is This Goofy-Sounding Word So Important in China? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116002158/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/10/netizen-why-is-this-goofy-sounding-word-so-important-in-china/263245/ |archive-date=16 November 2017 |work=The Atlantic |date=11 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Matt |last=Schiavenza |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/09/enough-with-the-word-netizen/279969/ |title=Enough with the word 'Netizen' |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729043129/https://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/09/enough-with-the-word-netizen/279969/ |archive-date=29 July 2018 |work=The Atlantic |date=25 September 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Size === China has the largest number of internet users of any country<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=18}} with 1.1 billion as of August 2024.<ref name=":1232222" />{{Reference page|page=223}} Consistent with the trends of other large and relatively linguistically isolated countries, Chinese internet users tend to focus their internet use on content that is domestically relevant.<ref name=":Curtis&Klaus" />{{Rp|pages=74–75}}

As of 2025, 20% of internet users around the world are Chinese.<ref name=":1232222" />{{Reference page|page=223}}

=== Demographics === In the early years of China's internet, the userbase primarily consisted of young males of the elite or middle class, with higher educational and working in professional fields, located in the most developed regions and biggest cities.'''<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Song |first=Chenyang |title=Nationalist and Popular Culture Practices on Social Media: A Digital Ethnography of Chinese Online Fandom Nationalists |date=2025 |publisher=Transcript |isbn=978-3-8376-7926-7 |edition= |location=Bielefeld}}</ref>'''{{Reference page|page=20}} Over time, the demographics of Chinese internet users has developed closer to the demographics of the country as a whole.<ref name=":5" />{{Reference page|page=20}} Mobile internet access has increased the participation of females, younger people, less educated people, and people from rural areas.<ref name=":5" />{{Reference page|page=24}}

According to a survey by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), China had 1.09 billion Internet users by the end of December 2023, a 1.9% increase over the year before and a penetration rate of 77.5%. The proportions of users accessing the Internet via mobile phones, desktop computers, laptop computers, TVs and tablet computers were 99.9%, 33.9%, 30.3%, 22.5% and 26.6%, respectively. 51.2% of internet users were male, while the remaining 48.8% were female.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 2024 |title=The 53rd Statistical Report on China's Internet Development |url=https://www.cnnic.com.cn/IDR/ReportDownloads/202405/P020240509518443205347.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240711193443/https://www.cnnic.com.cn/IDR/ReportDownloads/202405/P020240509518443205347.pdf |archive-date=11 July 2024 |access-date=11 July 2024 |publisher=CNNIC}}</ref>

Throughout the history of the internet in China, the majority of users have been between ages 20 and 50.<ref name=":5" />{{Reference page|page=20}}

== Law and regulation == By law, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) governs the country's Internet.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 March 2021 |title=加强党对网信工作的集中统一领导 |trans-title=Strengthen the Party's centralized and unified leadership over cyberspace affairs |url=https://www.cac.gov.cn/2021-03/08/c_1616784900380244.htm |access-date=26 May 2026 |website=Cyberspace Administration of China}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Constantinescu |first=Vlad |title=Strengthening the Great Firewall: China Pledges More Internet Control |url=https://www.bitdefender.com/en-gb/blog/hotforsecurity/strengthening-the-great-firewall-china-pledges-more-internet-control |access-date=2026-05-27 |website=Hot for Security |language=en-gb}}</ref> The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) is the primary body for content and data regulation, and serves to translate CCP ideology and policy into technical specifications.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Xu |first=Jian |last2=Gong |first2=Qian |last3=Yin |first3=Wen |date=November 2022 |title=Maintaining ideological security and legitimacy in digital China: Governance of cyber historical nihilism |journal=Media International Australia |language=en |volume=185 |issue=1 |pages=26–40 |doi=10.1177/1329878X221111826 |issn=1329-878X}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=P. Horsley |first=Jamie |date=8 August 2022 |title=Behind the Facade of China's Cyber Super-Regulator |url=https://digichina.stanford.edu/work/behind-the-facade-of-chinas-cyber-super-regulator/ |access-date=2024-08-01 |website=DigiChina |publisher=Stanford University |language=en |archive-date=9 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909152619/https://digichina.stanford.edu/work/behind-the-facade-of-chinas-cyber-super-regulator/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=30}} It coordinates data regulation enforcement among relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the State Administration for Market Regulation.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=30}} The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has the primary responsibility for preventing cyberattacks.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=143}}

The legal framework for China's internet regulations is established by the Cyber Security Law, the Data Security Law, and the Personal Information Protection Law.<ref name=":1232222" />{{Reference page|page=221}} This framework is further developed through regulations and administrative actions.<ref name=":1232222" />{{Reference page|page=221}}

Chinese policymakers frame data as a "key" factor of production, comparable to land, labor, capital, and technology, thereby requiring an increased level of state control.<ref name=":1232222" />{{Reference page|page=224}}

=== Regulatory priorities === In 2009, China amended its Criminal Law to create a low threshold for the prosecution of malicious cybercrimes and illegal data sales.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=131}}

Generally, China advocates for internet sovereignty and tends to prioritize cybersecurity more than personal data protection.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=121}} Chinese policymakers became increasingly concerned about the risk of cyberattacks following the 2010s global surveillance disclosures by Edward Snowden, which demonstrated extensive United States intelligence activities in China.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=129}} As part of its response, the Communist Party in 2014 formed the Cybersecurity and Information Leading Group.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=|pages=129, 250}}

Since 2014, China expresses its key principles on cyberspace sovereignty and related topics in the National Cybersecurity Strategy and Strategy for International Cooperation in Cyberspace.<ref name=":1232222">{{Cite book |last=Lee|first=John|title=The Communist Party of China: Understanding the Durability of the World's Most Powerful Political Organization|last2=Drinhausen|first2=Katja|date=2025|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-009-66843-9|editor-last=Hillman|editor-first=Ben|edition=|location=New York|chapter=Digital Power: Technological Leadership, Smart Governance, and Ideological Control|doi=10.1017/9781009668385|editor-last2=Ji|editor-first2=Fengyuan}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=220}} It also discusses principles for developing a "community of common destiny in cyberspace."<ref name=":1232222" />{{Reference page|page=220}}

The 2017 Cyber Security Law was also part of China's response to increased risks of foreign surveillance and foreign data collection following the United States surveillance disclosures.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=250}} Among other provisions, the law has significant data localization requirements.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=250}} It is a major pillar of the Chinese data regulatory environment.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=131}}

Before the 2020-2021 Xi Jinping administration reform spree, the regulatory environment for internet companies was relatively lax because the government sought to encourage the development of the big data economy.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=121}} The regulatory environment for tech companies subsequently became stricter and in 2021, two national data laws and a host of regulatory guidelines were promulgated, broadening the scope of government enforcement and increasing the penalties for personal data violations.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=122}} After mid-2023, the government decreased its regulatory intervention in e-commerce and issued policies more supportive of the e-commerce sector.<ref name=":Liu">{{Cite book |last=Liu |first=Lizhi |title=From Click to Boom: The Political Economy of E-Commerce in China |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2024 |isbn=9780691254104}}</ref>{{Rp|page=17}}

In 2020, the Xiao Zhan/227 incident, a conflict among online fan communities arising from a slash fiction novel posted on the fan fiction website Archive of Our Own, resulted in public attention and scrutiny from policymakers on the issue of hostile online communication.<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Song |first=Chenyang |title=Nationalist and Popular Culture Practices on Social Media: A Digital Ethnography of Chinese Online Fandom Nationalists |date=2025 |publisher=Transcript |isbn=978-3-8376-7926-7 |edition= |location=Bielefeld}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=163}} The Cyberspace Administration of China's ''Qinglang Xingdong'' ("Sweep-Up Campaign") began in June 2021 and sought to clean up harmful actions in fandoms such as fan wars.<ref name=":FandomNationalism">{{Cite book |last1=Wang |first1=Erika Ningxin |title=Fandom Nationalism: Participatory Censorship and Performative Patriotism in East Asia |last2=Huang |first2=Qian |date=2026 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=979-8-7651-2516-8 |edition= |series=Bloomsbury Fandom Primers Series |location=New York}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=4}} CAC initiated a series of policies and campaigns against "resentment and abuse, upvoting/downvoting and trolling, disinformation and name-calling, doxing, and privacy violations of online fandom communities."<ref name=":022" />{{Reference page|page=163}} Major Chinese social media platforms revised their policies accordingly.<ref name=":022" />{{Reference page|pages=163-164}}

The 2021 Data Security Law classifies data into different categories and establishes corresponding levels of protection.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=131}} It imposes significant data localization requirements, in a response to the extraterritorial reach of the United States CLOUD Act or similar foreign laws.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|pages=250–251}} The 2021 Personal Information Protection Law is China's first comprehensive law on personal data rights and is modeled after the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=131}} In summer 2021, MIIT began a six-month long regulatory campaign to address a variety of consumer protection and unfair competition issues, including interoperability concerns, in the consumer internet sector.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=114}} It held meetings with executives from major Chinese tech companies and instructed them that their companies could no longer block external links to competitors.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=114}}

Regarding regulation of the internet, the ''Resolution on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century'' states:<ref name=":042">{{Cite book |last=Hockx|first=Michel|author-link=Michel Hockx|title=Literature and Censorship in Modern China|date=2026|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781032775838|location=New York, NY}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=71}}{{Blockquote|text=The Party puts heavy emphasis on developing and creating new means of communication. It has [promoted integrated development of media, and worked to strengthen the penetration and credibility of media and its ability to guide and influence. The Central Committee has made it clear that failure in the cyberspace domain will spell disaster for the Party's long-term governance. The Party therefore attaches great importance to the Internet as the main arena, battleground, and frontline of the ideological struggle. It has improved the leadership and management systems for the Internet, regulated the cyberspace according to the law, and strived to foster a clean online environment.}}In 2022, the CAC issued measures and guidelines on security assessments for cross-border data transfers as part of an effort to institutionalize data transfer review mechanisms.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=251}} In March 2022, China instituted its Regulations of Internet Information Service Recommendation Algorithms.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Borst |first=Nicholas |title=The Bird and the Cage: China's Economic Contradictions |date=2025 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-981-96-3996-0 |location=Singapore}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=195}} Among other provisions, these regulations mandate the registration of algorithms with "public opinion properties" or "capacity for social mobilization".<ref name=":3" />{{Reference page|page=195}} The companies that develop such algorithms must carry out security assessments.<ref name=":3" />{{Reference page|page=195}} Since 2023, all apps provided in app stores require pre-approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last1=Batke |first1=Jessica |last2=Edelson |first2=Laura |date=30 June 2025 |title=The Locknet: How China Controls Its Internet and Why It Matters |url=https://locknet.chinafile.com/the-locknet/intro/ |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=ChinaFile |publisher=Asia Society |language=en}}</ref>

In March 2024, China's Provisions on Promoting and Regulating Cross-Border Data Flows, which CAC had issued, became effective.<ref name=":1232222" />{{Reference page|page=221}} These provisions aim to integrate obligations across the Cyber Security Law, the Data Security Law, and the Personal Information Protection Law.<ref name=":1232222" />{{Reference page|page=221}} Among other measures, it in certain circumstances it requires a CAC-led review of data exports across China's borders.<ref name=":1232222" />{{Reference page|page=221}}

=== Real-name system === {{Main|Internet real-name system in China}} On 28 December 2012, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) adopted the Decision on Strengthening Network Information Protection,<ref>{{cite news |author= |date=2012-12-28 |title=全国人民代表大会常务委员会关于加强网络信息保护的决定 |url=http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/xinwen/2012-12/29/content_1749526.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203205216/http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/xinwen/2012-12/29/content_1749526.htm |archive-date=2013-02-03 |access-date= |work=全国人大常委会}}</ref> requiring service providers to require users to provide identity information when they obtain or use services including phone services, Internet access, and posting on social media. This marked the start of the Internet real-name system in China, in which Internet service providers and online platforms (especially user-generated content sites) are required to collect users' real names, ID numbers, and other information when providing services.<ref name=":32">{{Cite web |last1=Hu |first1=Taige |last2=Wei |first2=Changhao |date=18 November 2024 |title=October 2024: Highlights of Wu Bangguo's Tenure as China's Chief Lawmaker |url=https://newsletter.npcobserver.com/p/october-2024-highlights-of-wu-bangguos |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=NPC Observer |language=en}}</ref><ref name="realnamelaw">{{Cite web |date=2012-12-29 |title=授权发布：全国人民代表大会常务委员会关于加强网络信息保护的决定 |url=http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/xinwen/2012-12/29/content_1749526.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203205216/http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/xinwen/2012-12/29/content_1749526.htm |archive-date=2013-02-03 |access-date=2012-12-31 |publisher=全国人大信息中心 |language=zh-hans}}</ref>

In 2015, the Cyberspace Administration of China announced a Provision requiring users to sign up with their real name on internet services.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chin |first=Josh |date=2015-02-04 |title=China to Enforce Real-Name Registration for Internet Users |url=http://online.wsj.com/articles/china-to-enforce-real-name-registration-for-internet-users-1423033973 |access-date=2025-07-15 |work=The Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}</ref> The real-name system was codified in the Cybersecurity Law in 2016.<ref>{{cite news |date=2016-11-07 |title=织就网络安全的"法网"——网络安全法六大看点解析 |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2016-11/07/c_1119867197.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161125134753/http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2016-11/07/c_1119867197.htm |archive-date=2016-11-25 |access-date=2017-02-06 |work=新华社}}</ref> Starting from 2016, use of cell phone numbers in mainland China have been required to be registered with real names. In 2017, the Cyberspace Administration of China announced regulations requiring online platforms to request and verify real names and other personal information from users when they register, leading China's largest apps to start implementing the system.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2017-08-29 |title=China web users debate new rules on online identity |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41081676 |access-date=2025-07-15 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2025, China launched the national online identity authentication system, allowing netizens to submit their personal information to receive an "Internet certificate", a unique code that can be used to verify real-name identities and access online accounts.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Northrop |first=Katrina |date=15 July 2025 |title=Big Brother gets new powers in China with digital ID system |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/07/15/china-digital-id-internet-surveillance/ |access-date=15 July 2025 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

=== Regulations regarding minors === As a result of public outcry over parent-child online gaming conflicts, the government issued legislation in the early 2000s.<ref name="Bao">{{Cite book |last=Rao |first=Yichen |title=Games & Play in Chinese & Sinophone Cultures |date=2024 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=9780295752402 |editor-last=Guo |editor-first=Li |location=Seattle, WA |pages= |chapter=How China's Young "Internet Addicts" Gamify the Disciplinary Treatment Camp |editor-last2=Eyman |editor-first2=Douglas |editor-last3=Sun |editor-first3=Hongmei}}</ref>{{Rp|page=175}} In 2002, the government passed legislation which forbid Internet cafes from allowing minors.<ref name="Bao" />{{Rp|page=175}} The Law on Protection of Minors was amended in 2006 to state that the family and the state should guide minors' online behavior.<ref name="Bao" />{{Rp|page=175}} These amendments place "indulgence in the Internet" on par with misbehaviors like smoking and vagrancy.<ref name="Bao" />{{Rp|page=175}}

In 2009, the government requested that to aid parents in monitoring what children were doing on the Internet, "Green Dam Youth Escort" software be pre-installed on personal computers sold in most parts of China (excluding Special Administrative Regions).<ref name="Bao" />{{Rp|page=|pages=175–176}} This resulted in public criticism on the basis of privacy concerns, and the government abandoned the effort after several months.<ref name="Bao" />{{Rp|page=176}}

The state requires online games to set limits for minors' playing time.<ref name="Bao" />{{Rp|page=175}}

==Content== According to Kaiser Kuo, the internet in China is largely used for entertainment purposes, being referred to as the "entertainment superhighway". However, it also serves as the first public forum for Chinese citizens to freely exchange their ideas.<ref>Kaiser Kuo, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-jqGmc6xKI TEDxHonolulu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702083011/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-jqGmc6xKI |date=2 July 2016 }} Technology, Entertainment and Design Conference, 5 November 2009</ref> Most users go online to read news, to search for information, and to check their email. They also go to BBS or web forums, find music or videos, or download files.

=== Messaging === As of 2023, the most used internet services in China are instant messaging and mobile messaging apps.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=8}} In 2020, 99% of internet users in China used instant messaging, while 99.8% used mobile messaging apps.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=8}}

As of 2019, 93.5% of Chinese internet users had used WeChat.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=76}} As of 2026, it continues to be one of the main platforms in China.<ref name=":FandomNationalism" />{{Reference page|page=8}}

===Websites=== All websites that operate in China with their own domain name must have an ICP license from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Because the PRC government blocks many foreign websites, many homegrown copycats of foreign websites have appeared.<ref>Goldkorn, Jeremy. "[http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/152/behind-the-great-firewall-of-china.html YouTube = Youku? Websites and Their Chinese Equivalents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110412180903/http://www.fastcompany.com//magazine//152//behind-the-great-firewall-of-china.html |date=12 April 2011 }}." ''Fast Company''. 20 January 2011. Retrieved on 5 May 2011.</ref>

===Search engines=== {| class = "wikitable" style = "float:right; font-size:85%; margin-left:15px; width:30%" |- style="background:#efefef;" |+ Top ten most popular search sites in China As of 17 September 2013 By Unique visitors aged 15+, excludes traffic from public computers such as internet cafes or mobile phones Source: comScore qSearch<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinainternetwatch.com/3809/china-search-engine-market-share-update-august-2013/|title=Baidu Search Share Down While Qihoo 360 Up in August 2013|date=17 September 2013|website=Chinainternetwatch.com|access-date=15 August 2018|archive-date=28 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828025605/https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/3809/china-search-engine-market-share-update-august-2013/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://tech.sina.com.cn/i/2013-07-05/14558511980.shtml|title=谷歌中国搜索市场份额仅2%：排名滑落至第五|website=Tech.sina.com.cn|access-date=15 August 2018|archive-date=17 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517010041/http://tech.sina.com.cn/i/2013-07-05/14558511980.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> ! China !! Share of searches (%) |- | Baidu || 63.16 |- | 360 || 18.23 |- | Sogou || 10.35 |- | Soso|| 3.62 |- | Google|| 2.88 |- | Bing|| 0.57 |- | Yahoo|| 0.48 |- | Youdao || 0.16 |- | other|| 0.09 |}

Baidu is the leading search engine in China, while most web portals also provide search opportunities like Bing and Sogou.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

Efforts to establish state-owned search engines in China have not succeeded.<ref name=":Liu" />{{Rp|page=43}} Search engine ChinaSo.com, jointly managed by Xinhua News Agency and ''People's Daily'', is active as of 2024 but has few users.<ref name=":Liu" />{{Rp|page=43}} State-run search engine Jike Search, the CEO of which was Deng Yaping, failed in 2013.<ref name=":Liu" />{{Rp|page=43}}

===Social media=== Bulletin board system (BBS) forums began developing in China in 1994.<ref name=":0222">{{Cite book |last=Han|first=Rongbin|title=Make China Great Again: Online Alt-History Fiction and Popular Authoritarianism|date=2026|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-22054-5|location=New York}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=24}}

Since 2009, microblogs (''weibo'') have become one of the most widely used internet services in China.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=146}} As of December 2024, Sina Weibo is the most used social media platform.<ref name=":FandomNationalism" />{{Reference page|page=6}} Other major social media platforms as of 2026 include, among others, Bilibili, Douyin, Douban, and Xiaohonshu.<ref name=":FandomNationalism" />{{Reference page|page=8}}

China is one of the most restricted countries in the world in terms of internet; however, these constraints have directly contributed to the success of local Chinese social media sites.<ref>{{cite web |title=How web-connected is China? |url=http://chinapower.csis.org/web-connectedness/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926031804/https://chinapower.csis.org/web-connectedness/ |archive-date=26 September 2017 |access-date=12 July 2016 |publisher=ChinaPowerCSIS}}</ref>

In Chinese internet discourse, "self-media" refers to independently operated social media accounts that produce original content and are not registered with an official media agency.<ref name=":123222">{{Cite book |last=Lin|first=Delia|title=The Communist Party of China: Understanding the Durability of the World's Most Powerful Political Organization|date=2025|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-009-66843-9|editor-last=Hillman|editor-first=Ben|edition=|location=New York|chapter=Patriotic Nationalism as Commodity|doi=10.1017/9781009668385|editor-last2=Ji|editor-first2=Fengyuan}}</ref>{{Reference page|pages=112-113}}

===Online shopping=== Since 2013, China is the world's largest e-commerce market.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=99}} Its domestic e-commerce market was an estimated {{USD|899 billion}} in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |last=Millward |first=Steven |date=18 August 2016 |title=Asia's ecommerce spending to hit record $1 trillion this year – but most of that is China |url=https://www.techinasia.com/asia-ecommerce-spending-1-trillion-dollars-2016 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819043228/https://www.techinasia.com/asia-ecommerce-spending-1-trillion-dollars-2016 |archive-date=19 August 2016 |access-date=4 May 2021 |work=Tech in Asia}}</ref> China accounted for 42.4% of worldwide retail e-commerce in that year, the most of any country.<ref name="Hu-20232">{{Cite book |last=Hu |first=Richard |title=Reinventing the Chinese City |date=2023 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-21101-7 |location=New York}}</ref>{{Rp|page=110}}In 2019, online retail sales were 21% of China's total retail sales.<ref name=":Liu" />{{Rp|page=4}} As of late 2022, approximately 850 million Chinese individuals shop online and sectors related to e-commerce employ 69 million people in the country.<ref name=":Liu" />{{Rp|page=1}} In 2023, nearly 50% of worldwide online sales took place from China.<ref name=":Liu" />{{Rp|page=2}} In 2024 Alibaba's e-commerce platforms accounted for 36.4 percent of China's e-commerce market, a slight decrease from the previous year.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=Trump scraps plan to ban China’s Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu: Sources |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/1/13/trump-scraps-plan-to-ban-chinas-alibaba-tencent-baidu-sources |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251010195120/https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/1/13/trump-scraps-plan-to-ban-chinas-alibaba-tencent-baidu-sources |archive-date=October 10, 2025 |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> In November 2025, Alibaba's profit halved in its fiscal second quarter due to competition in the food-delivery sector, but revenue growth remained steady as its artificial intelligence initiatives gained momentum, with a specific emphasis on the consumer AI space, which is one of the largest. The drop was 53% year on year to 20.99 billion yuan, while adjusted net profit dropped by about 72% to 10.35 billion yuan, which was below expectations<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-11-25 |title=Alibaba's Profit Slumps but AI Business Shines — Update |url=https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202511252901/alibabas-profit-slumps-but-ai-business-shines-update |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260503102347/https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202511252901/alibabas-profit-slumps-but-ai-business-shines-update |archive-date=May 3, 2026 |access-date=2026-05-03 |website=Morningstar, Inc. |language=en}}</ref>. This slump is mostly due to intense competition and heavy spending in the food-delivery sector. Alibaba's food delivery applications include Ele.me, which introduced many discounts to gain customers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Qu |first=Sherry Qin and Tracy |date=2025-11-25 |title=Alibaba’s Profit Slumps but AI Business Shines |url=https://www.wsj.com/business/earnings/alibabas-profit-slumps-but-ai-business-shines-12bf14b1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260104024905/https://www.wsj.com/business/earnings/alibabas-profit-slumps-but-ai-business-shines-12bf14b1 |archive-date=January 4, 2026 |access-date=2026-05-03 |website=The Wall Street Journal |language=en-US}}</ref>

Some local governments have created e-commerce platforms in an effort to facilitate sales of local products.<ref name=":Liu" />{{Rp|page=43}} With the exception of the business-to-business platform Yiwugo.com (created by the Yiwu city government and a state-owned enterprise), these platforms have not been commercially successful.<ref name=":Liu" />{{Rp|page=43}}

===Online Mapping Services=== China has endeavored to offer a number of online mapping services and allows the dissemination of geographic information within the country. Tencent Maps (腾讯地图), Baidu Maps (百度地圖) and Tianditu (天地圖) are typical examples. Online mapping services can be understood as online cartography backed up by a geographic information system (GIS). GIS was originally a tool for cartographers, geographers and other types of specialists to store, manage, present and analyze spatial data. In bringing GIS online, the Web has made these tools available to a much wider audience.<ref>Tulloch, D. L. (2007) [http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1620/1535 ‘Many, Many Maps: Empowerment and Online Participatory Mapping’] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121123185000/http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1620/1535 |date=23 November 2012 }}, First Monday 12 (2)</ref> Furthermore, with the advent of broadband, utilizing GIS has become much faster and easier. Increasingly, non-specialist members of the public can access, look up and make use of geographic information for their own purposes.<ref>Chen, Yu-Wen (2010) Drawing Borders Alters Our World. Taipei Times, 19 December, [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2010/12/19/2003491313] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004215627/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2010/12/19/2003491313|date=4 October 2013}}</ref> Tianditu is China's first online mapping service. Literally World Map, Tianditu was launched in late October 2010. The Chinese government has repeatedly claimed{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} that this service is to offer comprehensive geographical data for Chinese users to learn more about the world.{{fact|date=February 2026}}

=== Online payment === In 2013, Alipay overtook PayPal to become the world's largest mobile payment provider.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=150}} <ref>{{Cite news |title=Alibaba Takes Major Step to Link Taobao Shopping to Main AI App |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-15/alibaba-takes-major-step-to-link-taobao-shopping-to-main-ai-app |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260116065018/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-15/alibaba-takes-major-step-to-link-taobao-shopping-to-main-ai-app |archive-date=2026-01-16 |access-date=2026-03-11 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}</ref> As of January 2015, Alipay, owned by Alibaba Group has 600 million counts of users and has the largest user group among all online-payment providers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.china.com.cn/live/2015-02/27/content_31531594.htm|title=支付宝钱包活跃用户超6亿_新闻中心_中国网|website=News.china.com.cn|access-date=15 August 2018|archive-date=8 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808112651/http://news.china.com.cn/live/2015-02/27/content_31531594.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> It continues to be China's largest online payment service as of at least 2023.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=150}} WeChat Pay remains a strong competitor to Alipay, with 37% of the Chinese mobile payment market as of 2016.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=151}} The latest figures from 2020 showed that Alipay had 711 million monthly active users, despite trade restrictions between the U.S. and China. Chinese buyers rely on it for daily payments, bill settlements, restaurant orders, and appointments. The application also offers loans, insurance, and lifestyle services, and, in a way, because of Trump's restrictions, it is being used more by the local Chinese populace, creating a self-reliant digital ecosystem. From ordering food to making online purchases on e-commerce sites like Alibaba and booking doctor appointments and even using public toilets; around 90% of payments are being made through mobile applications.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Knight |first=Will |title=As Trump Squeezes China, Alipay’s Star Rises |url=https://www.wired.com/story/trump-squeezes-china-alipay-star-rises/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260405172812/https://www.wired.com/story/trump-squeezes-china-alipay-star-rises/ |archive-date=April 5, 2026 |access-date=2026-04-19 |work=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> On January 5, 2021, Trump considered banning Alipay and seven other Chinese applications, WeChat, QQ, Wallet, CamScanner, SHAREit, VMate, and WPS Office, citing national security threats.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-01-06 |title=Trump bans Alipay and seven other Chinese apps |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55555269 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251024134259/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55555269 |archive-date=October 24, 2025 |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

By June 2020, there were 805 million users of mobile payment in China.<ref name=":04">{{Cite book |last=Lin |first=Shuanglin |title=China's Public Finance: Reforms, Challenges, and Options |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-009-09902-8 |edition= |location=New York, NY}}</ref>{{Rp|page=202}}

By June 2024, about 954 million individuals were actively using mobile payment in China.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Consulting |first=Daxue |date=2024-12-30 |title=Mobile payments in China: How China became a cashless society |url=https://daxueconsulting.com/payment-methods-in-china/ |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=Daxue Consulting - Market Research and Consulting China |language=en-US |archive-date=29 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629103810/https://daxueconsulting.com/payment-methods-in-china/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Online gaming=== {{main|Online gaming in China}}

As of 2022, China is the second largest market for online games after the United States.<ref>{{cite web |title=Top countries and markets by video game revenues |url=https://newzoo.com/resources/rankings/top-10-countries-by-game-revenues |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326135814/https://newzoo.com/resources/rankings/top-10-countries-by-game-revenues |archive-date=2023-03-26 |access-date=6 October 2023 |website=Newzoo}}</ref> In 2023, the country has 668 million internet users playing online games and the industry was worth US$42 billion.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Feng |first1=Coco |last2=Deng |first2=Iris |date=13 January 2024 |title=China's video gaming market ended 2023 battered and bruised, but can world-beating titles and innovation save the day? |url=https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3248249/chinas-video-gaming-market-ended-2023-battered-and-bruised-can-world-beating-titles-and-innovation |access-date=11 July 2024 |work=South China Morning Post |archive-date=11 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240711195228/https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3248249/chinas-video-gaming-market-ended-2023-battered-and-bruised-can-world-beating-titles-and-innovation |url-status=live }}</ref> 53.8% of gamers are male, 46.2% are female.<ref>{{cite web |author=Steven Millward |date=30 April 2024 |title=The Future of Female Gaming in China [Top Market Trends] |url=https://sekkeidigitalgroup.com/the-future-of-female-gaming-in-china |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=11 July 2024 |work=Sekkei Digital Group}}</ref>

In 2007, the Ministry of Culture (MoC) and General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) along with several other agencies implemented the Online Game Anti-Addiction System which aimed to stop video game addiction in youth. This system restricted minors from playing more than 3 hours a day and required Identification (ID) checking in order to verify you are of age.<ref>Zhan, Jing Da; Chan, Hock Chuan (April 2012)''. [https://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3655&context=cais "Government Regulation of Online Game Addiction".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428080626/https://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3655&context=cais |date=28 April 2019 }}''Communications of the Association for Information Systems. '''30''' (13): 187–198. doi:10.17705/1CAIS.03013. Retrieved 20 October 2021.</ref>

Later in 2019, the Chinese government announced in November that gamers under the age of 18 would be banned from playing video games between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. In addition, gamers under 18 would be restricted to 90 minutes of playing during the weekdays and 3 hours of playing during weekends and holidays as per new guidelines.<ref>{{cite news | author=BBC | date=6 November 2019 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50315960 | title=Video game addiction: China imposes gaming curfew for minors | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230803043510/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50315960 |archivedate=3 August 2023 | publisher=BBC News | accessdate=20 October 2021}}</ref>

As of 2021, the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) further restricted rules limiting playtime for under-18s to one hour per day from 8p.m. to 9 p.m. and only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.<ref>{{cite web | last=Goh | first=B. | date=31 August 2021 | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-rolls-out-new-rules-minors-online-gaming-xinhua-2021-08-30/ | title=Three hours a week: Play time's over for China's Young Video gamers | work=Reuters | accessdate=19 October 2021}}</ref>

=== Online literature === {{Excerpt|Chinese online literature}}

===Censorship=== {{Main|Internet censorship in China|Internet censorship}}

The Golden Shield Project was proposed to the State Council by Premier Zhu Rongji in 1993. It is overseen by the Ministry of Public Security.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=143}} As a massive surveillance and content control system, it was launched in November 2000, and became known as the Great Firewall. The governmental authorities not only block website content but also monitor the Internet access of individuals.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://phys.org/news/2005-09-china-yahoo-youve.html|title=The China Yahoo! welcome: You've got Jail!|access-date=1 August 2017|archive-date=10 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110160834/http://phys.org/news/2005-09-china-yahoo-youve.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

However, there are some methods of circumventing the censorship by using proxy servers outside the firewall.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/china0806/3.htm|title="Race to the Bottom": Corporate Complicity in Chinese Internet Censorship: II. How Censorship Works in China: A Brief Overview|website=Hrw.org|access-date=1 August 2017|archive-date=22 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150422063645/http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/china0806/3.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Users may circumvent all of the censorship and monitoring of the Great Firewall if they have a secure VPN or SSH connection method to a computer outside mainland China.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/dec/14/china-tightens-great-firewall-internet-control|title=China tightens 'Great Firewall' internet control with new technology|last=Arthur|first=Charles|date=14 December 2012|work=The Guardian|access-date=1 August 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=22 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422011808/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/dec/14/china-tightens-great-firewall-internet-control|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2017, the Chinese government declared unauthorized VPN services illegal, requiring VPN providers to obtain state approval.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ye |first=Josh |date=January 2017 |title=China tightens Great Firewall by declaring unauthorized VPN services illegal |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2064587/chinas-move-clean-vpns-and-strengthen-great-firewall |access-date=21 April 2021 |work=South China Morning Post |archive-date=24 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424082112/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2064587/chinas-move-clean-vpns-and-strengthen-great-firewall |url-status=live }}</ref> State-owned enterprises or state institutions use VPNs for official work.<ref name=":9222">{{Cite book |last=Šebok |first=Filip |title=Contemporary China: a New Superpower? |publisher=Routledge |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-03-239508-1 |editor-last=Kironska |editor-first=Kristina |chapter=Social Control and Propaganda |pages=99–113 |doi=10.4324/9781003350064-11 |editor-last2=Turscanyi |editor-first2=Richard Q.}}</ref>{{Rp|page=109}} The Chinese government has authorized several official VPN providers.<ref name=":9222" />{{Rp|page=109}} Those who develop or sell their own VPNs potentially face years in prison.<ref name=":9222" />{{Rp|page=109}} According to a 2022 estimate, 3% of Chinese netizens use VPNs, compared to 8.5% of Americans.<ref name=":6" />

For their use in "wall climbing" the Great Firewall, VPNs are sometimes colloquially referred to as "the ladder".<ref name=":5" />{{Reference page|page=150}}

Different methods are used to block certain websites or pages including DNS poisoning, blocking access to IPs, analyzing and filtering URLs, inspecting filter packets and resetting connections.<ref name="howto">{{cite web |last1=Hoffman |first1=Chris |title=How the "Great Firewall of China" Works to Censor China's Internet |url=https://www.howtogeek.com/162092/htg-explains-how-the-great-firewall-of-china-works/ |website=Howtogeek.com |date=22 September 2016 |access-date=15 August 2018 |archive-date=15 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815131540/https://www.howtogeek.com/162092/htg-explains-how-the-great-firewall-of-china-works/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2009, motivated in part by its desire to prevent color revolutions, China banned Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.<ref name=":Li">{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Hongshan |title=Fighting on the Cultural Front: U.S.-China Relations in the Cold War |date=2024 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=9780231207058 |location=New York, NY |pages=332 |doi=10.7312/li--20704 |jstor=10.7312/li--20704}}</ref> It banned Google the next year.<ref name=":Li" /> By blocking major international internet platforms such as Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, the Great Firewall has contributed to the development of domestic alternatives including Baidu, Renren, Youku, and Weibo.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=8}}

===Memes=== The Doge meme developed popularity on Chinese social media platforms beginning in 2013.<ref name=":5" />{{Reference page|page=184}} In Sinophone online contexts, the dog's expression is often viewed as enigmatic.<ref name=":5" />{{Reference page|page=184}} Weibo implemented the meme as an emoji, which further increased the meme's popularity, and which is often used to indicate whimsy or ambiguous sarcasm.<ref name=":5" />{{Reference page|page=184}}

Other global visual elements of online discourse that have become localised in Chinese contexts include D'Angelo Dinero memes (the wrestler's nuanced facial expressions are used to comment on issues) and Baozou comics (influenced by Anglophone rage comics).<ref name=":5" />{{Reference page|page=184}}

==== Political memes ==== Internet regulation and political taboos in China result in an online political satire culture which tends to be more indirect and which spoofs establishment discourses.<ref name=":5" />{{Reference page|page=35}} The Baidu 10 Mythical Creatures, initially a humorous hoax, became a popular and widespread internet meme in China.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hoax dictionary entries about legendary obscene beasts |url=http://www.danwei.org/humor/baidu_baike_fake_entries.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212184001/http://www.danwei.org/humor/baidu_baike_fake_entries.php |archive-date=2009-02-12 |access-date=2026-05-29 |website=www.danwei.org}}</ref> These ten hoaxes reportedly originated in response to increasing online censorship and have become an icon of Chinese internet users' resistance to it.<ref name="pun">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/world/asia/12beast.html?em|work=New York Times|first=Michael|last=Wines|title=A Dirty Pun Tweaks China's Online Censors|date=11 March 2009|access-date=12 March 2009|archive-date=5 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005134536/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/world/asia/12beast.html?em|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Bobbie Johnson, [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2009/mar/13/china-grass-mud-horse ETech: The truth about China and its filthy puns] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510163632/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2009/mar/13/china-grass-mud-horse |date=10 May 2017 }}, The Guardian, 13 March 2009</ref>

Green Dam Girl, a satirical character, is among the Chinese memes that draws on visual elements of Japanese popular culture such as moe culture.<ref name=":5" />{{Reference page|page=184}} Green Dam Girl satirised the Green Dam Youth Escort software.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2009-06-18 |title=China clarifies web filter plans |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8106526.stm |access-date=2025-11-17 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued a directive on 30 March 2009 to highlight 31 categories of content prohibited online, including violence, pornography and content which may "incite ethnic discrimination or undermine social stability". Many Chinese internet users believe the instruction follows the official embarrassment over the "Grass Mud Horse" and the "River Crab". Industry observers believe that the move was designed to stop the spread of parodies or other comments on politically sensitive issues in the runup to the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.<ref name="parody">{{cite news|author=Vivian Wu|title=Censors strike at internet content after parody hit |work=South China Morning Post |date=3 April 2009|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/675609/censors-strike-internet-content-after-hit-parody}}</ref>

The meme "Shut up, we're discussing democracy and you do not have a say" is used in online political discourses to mock liberal democratic public intellectuals, contending that they are self-interested, ideologically intolerant, and thus hypocritical.<ref name=":0223">{{Cite book |last=Han|first=Rongbin|title=Make China Great Again: Online Alt-History Fiction and Popular Authoritarianism|date=2026|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-22054-5|location=New York}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=100}}

==Internet advertising market== The size of China's online advertising market was RMB 3.3 billion in the third quarter 2008, up 19.1% compared with the previous quarter. Tencent, Baidu.com Inc, Sina Corp remain the Top 3 in terms of market share. Keyword advertising market size reached RMB 1.46 billion, accounting for 43.8% of the total Internet advertising market with a quarter-on-quarter growth rate of 19.3%, while that of the online advertising site amounted to RMB 1.70 billion, accounting for 50.7% of the total, up 18.9% compared with the second quarter.<ref name="alibaba">[http://news.alibaba.com/article/detail/business-in-china/100020927-1-china%2527s-internet-advertising-market-hits.html China's Internet advertising market hits RMB 3.34 bln in Q3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707110626/http://news.alibaba.com/article/detail/business-in-china/100020927-1-china%27s-internet-advertising-market-hits.html |date=7 July 2011 }}. News.alibaba.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2012.</ref>

Currently, Baidu has launched the CPA platform, and Sina Corp has launched an advertising scheme for intelligent investment. The moves indicate a market trend of effective advertising with low cost. Online advertisements of automobiles, real estate and finance will keep growing rapidly in the future.<ref name="alibaba" />

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Internet in China}} Category:Internet in China Category:Internet properties established in 1994