The Chinese government launched a new round of actions in February to crack down on false or illegal advertising. In early February, government agencies issued new regulations which require that all radio and television broadcasting institutions, newspaper and magazine publishers and online media appoint an advertising examiner to review ads for inappropriate or misleading content. The actions were initiated by twelve government agencies, including the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration of Radio Film and Television, the Ministry of Health, and the State Food and Drug Administration.
According to an inter-ministerial action plan published by the agencies on February 23, 2012, supervision over advertisement publication at the prefectural level or above will be strengthened, especially in connection with TV shopping ads, ads in relation to medicine, food and dietary supplements, beauty services, cosmetics, and franchising. In addition, the online ad content will be regulated more strictly.
