The Telecommunications Regulations were promulgated on 25 Sept. 2000, and amended in 2014 and 2016 respectively. The latest revision entered into force on 6 Feb. 2016.
There are 80 articles in total. The Regulations aim to regulate telecommunications-related activities within the territory of China. Telecommunications-related activities refer to those transmitting information by telecommunications systems. The key points of the Regulations include:
The Telecommunications Administration (i.e. Ministry/Bureau of Industry and Information Technology) is the regulator in this field.
Telecommunications services are divided into basic telecommunications services and value-added telecommunications services; the former refers to the operation of public network infrastructure, while the latter refers to the use of such infrastructure to provide telecommunications and information services. The equity proportion owned by the State shall not be less than 51% in terms of the operation of public network infrastructure.
The operator’s operation shall be in line with the requirements of national security and telecommunications network security, and no illegal content shall be transmitted.
The telecommunications content of telecommunications users is protected by the law, but public security organs, national security authorities or procuratorates may inspect such content for the purpose of protecting national security or criminal investigation.