Spam message senders could face a penalty of up to 30,000 yuan ($4,900) in terms of fines according to a proposed new law crafted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
The draft regulation which seeks to wipe out mass spam messages sent online and through mobile phones is now being circulated and passed around for comments and reaction from the public before it becomes final, executory and enforceable.
The junk messages targeted by the proposed new measure include text messages and those sent via social media tools such as Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, and WeChat, a popular instant messaging service developed by Tencent, according to the government's website.
A previous version of the draft regulation was released in March to solicit public opinion. In that version, it merely states that the sending of advertisements by any organization or individual through email or text message "when the receiver has not agreed or made a request, or when the receiver has clearly refused," would be prohibited.
Those who aired their opinion said that "without rules outlining strict and workable punishments, the law would lack teeth," according to the South China Morning Post.
According to the Post report, "The Beijing News" in particular observed that "it is necessary that the advertisement law gives those bothered by spam the right to directly sue the advertisers" and suggested setting a minimum amount for compensation, or introducing punitive damages to deter advertisers.
The Beijing News added: "China has a limited number of telecoms operators, and it should have been easier to manage. But because of the weakness in the area of legal liability, some operators not only failed to perform their duties in curbing spam, they voluntarily became accomplices to immoral advertisers."
Apparently, the suggestion by the Beijing News to give some teeth to the anti-spam regulation has been favorably received by the government as shown in the new revised draft measure.
Once passed, China will not be the first country in the world with an anti-spam law with penal provisions.
Since 2003 in Italy, those sending spam messages face fines of up to 90,000 euros and prison terms of between six months and three years, if proved that they did it to make a profit.