Six months idle, account frozen: China's CAC reopens Internet Services rules for comment
TL;DR
China's CAC republished the Internet Information Services rules for comment on July 3, letting platforms freeze or delete accounts dormant for over six months.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) republished the draft Internet Information Services Administrative Measures for public comment on July 3, 2026 — the first reopening since the 2021 first round. Comments close August 2, 2026.
Article 21 writes dormant-account handling into a ministry-level rule. When a service provider finds an account that has not logged in or been used for over six months, it must "suspend, restrict or prohibit its posting and related functions, and up to freezing the account, deleting the account, closing the account, or barring re-registration." The same article requires providers to build a "dynamic verification system for internet account information" and to re-verify existing accounts on identity anomalies.
Cleaning up inactive accounts used to be each platform's own call — WeChat, Weibo and Alipay all set different thresholds, from 90 days to two years. It becomes mandatory now, with a floor of six months. The draft also bans "illegally hoarding or trading internet accounts" and requires providers to break the binding when "the user of a mobile phone number changes," closing the loophole that lets a second-hand SIM inherit someone else's accounts.
Real-name authentication data must be "kept synchronously throughout the service period" — meaning even after an account is deleted, the identity record is not. Regulators are pushing the 2017 Cybersecurity Law's real-name regime one layer deeper, from registration into the full account lifecycle.
Comments go to law@cac.gov.cn, or by mail to 11 Chegongzhuang Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, Cyberspace Law Bureau, 100044. Before August 2, this is the only public window to object.
via Xinhua / CAC / SecRSS
Article 21 writes dormant-account handling into a ministry-level rule. When a service provider finds an account that has not logged in or been used for over six months, it must "suspend, restrict or prohibit its posting and related functions, and up to freezing the account, deleting the account, closing the account, or barring re-registration." The same article requires providers to build a "dynamic verification system for internet account information" and to re-verify existing accounts on identity anomalies.
Cleaning up inactive accounts used to be each platform's own call — WeChat, Weibo and Alipay all set different thresholds, from 90 days to two years. It becomes mandatory now, with a floor of six months. The draft also bans "illegally hoarding or trading internet accounts" and requires providers to break the binding when "the user of a mobile phone number changes," closing the loophole that lets a second-hand SIM inherit someone else's accounts.
Real-name authentication data must be "kept synchronously throughout the service period" — meaning even after an account is deleted, the identity record is not. Regulators are pushing the 2017 Cybersecurity Law's real-name regime one layer deeper, from registration into the full account lifecycle.
Comments go to law@cac.gov.cn, or by mail to 11 Chegongzhuang Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, Cyberspace Law Bureau, 100044. Before August 2, this is the only public window to object.
via Xinhua / CAC / SecRSS
