According to Art. 6 of the Interim Provisions of the People's Republic of China on the Management of International Networking of Computer Information Networks, computer information networks for direct international networking must use the international channels provided by the national public telecommunications network of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. No unit or individual may establish or use other channels for international networking on their own. The public security authorities may issue a warning and impose a fine of up to RMB 15,000 (USD 2,200) on anyone who violates this provision. In addition, institutions or individuals are not allowed to use the international network to endanger national security, divulge state secrets, infringe upon national, social, and collective interests and the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, or engage in illegal and criminal activities. Institutions and individuals engaged in international networking services are required to file procedures in designated public security agencies within 30 days of the connection and accept the security supervision, inspection, and guidance of the public security authorities; for those who violate the measures, individuals and institutions can be fined in serious cases. The Provisions on Administrative Law Enforcement Procedures for Internet Information Content Management set out the procedural and administrative processes for the Cyberspace Administration of China to enforce the laws and regulations relating to Internet content.

The Circular on Clearing up and Regulating the Internet Access Service Market imposes government approval for telecom and Internet access providers to set up or rent a VPN. There are reports since 2017 that VPNs have been shut down, and individuals who set up or use VPNs have been punished.

Under Art. 7 of the Telecommunications Regulations, the State is required to operate a licensing regime for telecommunications enterprises in accordance with the established classification of such businesses. Pursuant to the Classification Catalogue of Telecommunications Services, this framework encompasses Internet data centre services. The corresponding licence is necessary for the provision of various services, including, among others, cloud services.
It is reported that China imposes stringent restrictions on foreign enterprises seeking to participate in the development of cloud computing services, including computer data processing and storage services and software application services provided over the Internet, and that foreign‑invested companies established in China are not permitted to supply these services directly. As cross‑border provision is difficult due to restrictive Chinese regulatory policies, the only practical means for a foreign company to access the Chinese market is to enter into a contractual partnership with a domestic firm that holds the required Internet data centre licence, a model that typically requires the foreign company to transfer valuable technology, intellectual property, know‑how, and branding to its Chinese partner. Although the foreign service provider may receive a licensing fee from such an arrangement, it gains no direct relationship with customers in China and has no independent ability to develop its business, effectively ceding control of its operations to a Chinese firm. It is also reported that in October 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology launched a pilot programme in four free‑trade zones, including in Beijing and Shanghai, permitting foreign companies to wholly own and operate Internet data centres.

China requires a supplier to have a basic telecommunications service license to provide VoIP service.

China instituted a licensing system for online taxi companies, which requires that personal information and business data be stored and used in mainland China and not transferred outside of China. Such information should be retained for two years, except when otherwise required by other laws and regulations. The Measurement also requires that taxi companies' servers be set up in Mainland China, with a network security management system and technical measures for security protection in compliance with regulations.

According to the Map Management Regulations, online maps are required to set up their server inside of the country, and an official certificate must be required.

According to the Administrative Measures on Internet Forum Community Service, providers of Internet forum community services are required to obtain and verify the identity information of users and enter into service agreements with them.

According to Art. 19 of the Counter-Terrorism Law issued in 2016, telecom operators and Internet service providers shall establish content monitoring and network security programs. Likewise, companies are required to adopt precautionary security measures to prevent the dissemination of information on extremism, report terrorism information to the authorities in a timely manner, keep original records, and promptly delete such messages to prevent further circulation. The law introduces both pecuniary fines and detentions up to 15 days for telecommunications operators and ISPs personnel who fail to “stop transmission” of terrorist or extremist content, “shut down related services,” or implement “network security” measures to prevent the transmission of such content.

According to Art. 7 of the Administrative Provisions on Information Services of Mobile Internet Application Programs, app providers are required to monitor online content and report violations to government authorities. App providers and app stores must not use apps to endanger national security, disrupt the public order, or produce, reproduce, publish, or disseminate content banned by laws and regulations, according to the Provisions. In addition, app providers must monitor banned content and take action against users that publish banned content by issuing warnings, restricting functions, stopping updates, or terminating accounts. They must also keep a record of the violations and report the matters to relevant government authorities. In addition, according to Art. 8, app stores are required to verify the legitimacy of app providers and ensure app providers protect user information and publish lawful content. App stores are required to take action against offending app providers by issuing warnings, suspending their publications, or removing the aberrant apps from the stores. App stores are also required to keep records of the violations and report them to the relevant government authorities.

Under Chapter III of the Provisions on the Governance of the Online Information Content Ecosystem, content service platforms are obligated to establish and implement a governance framework aimed at fostering a "network information content ecology" in accordance with the Provisions. The platforms are also encouraged to promote permissible information and prohibit forbidden content, while being required to prevent the dissemination of information deemed necessary to suppress. Art. 34 further mandates that platforms adopt appropriate measures against individuals or entities responsible for producing, copying, or disseminating prohibited information. These measures may include issuing warnings, requiring corrections or other forms of rectification, imposing functional restrictions, suspending updates, and closing accounts, in accordance with relevant laws and contractual obligations. Additionally, under Art. 10, platforms are required to promptly remove illegal content, maintain records of such activities, and report these matters to the relevant authorities. Furthermore, Arts. 13, 14 and 15 stipulate that platforms must, among other obligations, develop and provide online products and services suitable for minors, enhance the monitoring and regulation of displayed advertisements, and establish a credit management system for user accounts, along with providing corresponding services as necessary.
Art. 41 of the Provisions specifies that the content service platforms mentioned in these Provisions refer to network information service providers that offer services for the dissemination of network information content.

According to the Administrative Measures on Internet Forum Community Service and the Administrative Measures on Internet Comment, providers of Internet forum community services and providers of comment functions (together known as 'Speech Function Providers') are required to monitor the posts and comments, take action and report to the Cyberspace Administration of China if prohibited information has been published or discovered. In such situations, Speech Function Providers are required to cease transmission of the content, delete content or comments, restrict the comment function, close user accounts or sub-forums and revoke administrator powers (in the case of a forum). For news-related comment functions, the comments must be censored before being published. Speech Function Providers are also required to set up a complaints procedure in relation to posts and comments.

It is reported that China operates one of the world’s most sophisticated systems of internet censorship, commonly referred to as the Great Firewall, which restricts access to more than 200,000 websites and severely limits the availability of numerous international platforms and news sources. Most major global social media and messaging services, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, Signal, Clubhouse, YouTube, Telegram, Snapchat, Line, Pinterest, and Grindr are blocked, as are many international news organisations and their Chinese‑language editions, such as The New York Times, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Google’s search engine has been inaccessible in China since 2012, and Yahoo’s search function was similarly blocked in 2018.

The indicator "7.2.4 - Government Internet shut down in practice" of the V-Dem Dataset, which measures whether the government has the technical capacity to actively make internet service cease, thus interrupting domestic access to the internet or whether the government has decided to do so, has a score of 3 in China for the year 2025. This corresponds to "Rarely but there have been a few occasions throughout the year when the government shut down domestic access to Internet."

According to Art. 10 of the Administrative Regulations for Online Publishing Services, Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures, Chinese-foreign cooperative ventures, and foreign-funded entities are prohibited from engaging in online publishing services. Moreover, according to Art. 8, any publisher of online content, including texts, pictures, maps, games, animations, audio, and videos, must store its necessary technical equipment, related servers, and storage devices in China. Furthermore, any online publication service unit needs to get prior approval from the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) if they want to cooperate on a project with any foreign company, joint venture, or individual.

Art. 35 of the Data Security Law stipulates that where public security or national security authorities need to consult any data in order to safeguard national security or investigate a crime, the relevant organizations and individuals must provide such data. The same article stipulates that before getting access to the data held by private organizations, public security or national security authorities must go through strict approval formalities in advance.