China internet watchdog to ban online gaslighting of entrepreneurs as Beijing shows friendlier face to private sector

China’s internet watchdog launched a special campaign on Friday to ban gaslighting of the country’s entrepreneurs, as Beijing works to reinstall confidence in the private sector to revive a slowing economy.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a post on its official WeChat account that the campaign, which will last for three months, will target false or inaccurate information about Chinese enterprises and entrepreneurs, and aim to root out online websites and accounts that infringe upon peoples’ rights.

Narratives such as “Chinese private entrepreneurs are traitors” or “it’s time for China’s private economy to retreat” will be targeted. The watchdog will also crack down on any leaks of private biographical information pertaining to private entrepreneurs as well as their health records, financial accounts, travel itineraries, home addresses and telephone numbers.

The campaign aims to create a “benign online space for public opinions” so that entrepreneurs can focus on developing their businesses without being distracted, according to the CAC post.

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The special campaign comes almost one month after Niu Yibing, deputy director at the CAC, said at a Beijing press conference in late March that the agency would prioritise the online business environment this year.

Chinese nationalism has risen over the past decade, and business executives in the private sector – who often have significant operations overseas – have frequently found themselves on the receiving end of online abuse.

For example Sima Nan, an ultra-leftist influencer, made unsubstantiated allegations against Lenovo and its founder Liu Chuanzhi concerning the siphoning off state assets for months before his social media accounts were shut down by authorities in August 2022.

The Chinese internet regulator’s special drive also occurs as the country’s leaders attempt to shore up a Covid-battered economy and restore confidence to the private sector, including property and internet companies, which have been reeling under regulatory and economic headwinds.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang has pledged support for entrepreneurs and the private sector, while Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang told attendees at the China Development Forum held in March that the country would continue to expand market access.

The special campaign also forms part of the country’s perennial Qinglang, or “clean up cyberspace” campaign, which aims to fight and remove information the state deems harmful or inappropriate. This clean-up campaign began in 2016.

Last year, China initiated 13 special campaigns that tackled a total of 54.3 million incidents of illegal information, closed 6.8 million social media accounts, delisted 2,890 apps and mini-apps, dismissed 260,000 online discussion groups and shut down 7,300 websites, according to the agency.