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REGISTRATION OF NON-COMMERCIAL INTERNET INFORMATION SERVICES
Edward H. H. Liu
On 20 January 2005 the PRC’s Ministry of In-formation Industry promulgated its Regulations Governing Registration of Non-Commercial Internet Information Services, which took effect on 20 March 2005. The main content is as fol-lows:
The Regulations define “operating a non-commercial Internet information service within mainland Chinese territory” as the use, by an organization or individual within mainland China, of a website that can be ac-cessed via an Internet domain name, or a website that can be accessed only via an Internet IP address, to provide non-commercial Internet information services.
Articles 3 and 5 of the Regulations provide that a person or entity intending to provide non-commercial Internet information services within mainland China must register with the communications administration of the prov-ince in which it is located, and that such ser-vices may not be provided without prior reg-istration. Article 12 provides that within 20 working days after receiving full registration information from the applicant, the provincial communications administration must com-plete the registration, and issue an electronic registration certification mark and registration number to the applicant. If registration is re-fused, the administration must inform the ap-plicant within 20 days, stating the reasons for refusal.
If a person or entity breaches Article 5 of the Regulations by providing non-commercial Internet information services without prior registration, the provincial communications administration for the place where the person or entity is located should set a time limit for it to correct the situation, and impose a fine of RMB10,000. If the offender refuses to correct the situation, the website will be closed down. If a service provider provides services outside the scope of the items included in its registra-tion, the provincial communications admini-stration should set a time limit for it to correct the situation, and impose a fine of RMB5000 to RMB10,000. If the offender refuses to correct the situation, the website will be closed down and the registration revoked.
