China's Internet regulator will launch a campaign to clean up misleading and false online advertising following the death of a college student who underwent cancer treatment that listed high in his Baidu search.
The State Administration for Industry and Commerce announced the intensified protection for Internet users which will run through November, per a report from the South China Morning Post.
According to the announcement, China will be monitoring all advertisements posted over the Internet and called on to all levels of commerce and industry to join the campaign.
Many were enraged after Wei Xi, a student from Northwestern China's Shaanxi Province who suffered from a rare form of cancer known as synovial sarcoma, posted his disappointing experience with a hospital that listed high in his Baidu search.
Affected Companies
While it did not specify companies to be affected by the crackdown, Reuters believe that it will affect some of the country's biggest Internet companies such as Baidu Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JD.com Inc.
Baidu had been under investigation after the accusations posted by the deceased college student, but has defended their ad for the military hospital where Wei underwent treatment by posting a certificate, according to CNN Money.
The SCMP also noted that Baidu had declined some 30-million-yuan worth of promotional requests and closed some 438,000 advertising accounts that appeared suspicious.
On the other hand, a spokesperson from JD.com assured their clients and consumers that the company continues to implement a strict regulation of posts on their site.
"Our business model targets the scourge of counterfeits and we support efforts to protect consumers, wherever they may shop online," the spokesperson said.
Reuters was not able to get any response from Alibaba when they attempted to get a comment from the company as of the writing of this article.
The Crackdown
Aside from Wei's viral posts about Baidu, dozens of nongovernment organizations and patients' rights groups have already called for a probe on the company for its placement of medical advertisements, the SCMP noted.
According to Zhang Haoyu, a spokesperson for the groups, their pleas had been continuously ignored by authorities for months now.
But because of the college student's death, industry and commerce, national health, cyber affairs and military authorities are teaming up to investigate Baidu's medical advertising and initiate a regulatory policy for similar cases.
Between May and November, China's regulators will be monitoring online ads as well as other commerce-related posts to ensure the security and protection of Internet users.