Medicine, law, pedagogy, finance: if you are a Chinese influencer and talk about these topics on social media you must have a degree or certification ad hoc.
It is the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) that says so, starting to implement new regulations that will require digital creators who discuss specific topics on social media, which would require a certain level of skills, to possess formal qualifications.
What does it mean? That you won’t have to talk about medicines and stuff like that.
The new rules
This legislation does not represent a generalized ban, but focuses in particular on the so-called “YMYL areas” (Your Money or Your Life,”Your money or your life”), where a misinformation can have devastating impacts on people’s lives. It doesn’t apply to creators who cover topics like beauty product reviews or video games, but to professionals who influence the economic, legal, and health lives of the public. The obligation does not only concern the acquisition of a title, but also its visibility and the need to cite reliable sources. Furthermore, it is forbidden to advertise medical products without the necessary credentials or to improvise as professionals.
The intent is not only to protect the population from harm caused by content manipulated by algorithms, but also to restore trust in the profession and in the platforms themselves. But does it stop here? In addition to the public protection aspect, there are those who see this measure as a clear information control strategy. In sensitive areas such as law, economics and education, the Chinese government prefers the most influential voices to be those in line with the official narrative. An influencer who critically interprets a law or analyzes the economy from a non-aligned perspective could create unwanted “background noise.”
Protection or censorship?
Many qualified creators have welcomed the new law, seeing it as an opportunity to distinguish those who provide verified information from those who exploit the public’s gullibility. But there are also critical voices, including freedom of expression activists, who see this move as a further step towards state control. They fear that, under the apparent intent of protection, there is a desire to silence those who, despite being competent, do not follow the party line. There is also concern that platforms, to avoid sanctions, may be overzealous and censor legitimate content.
This Chinese regulation represents a unique experiment on a global level, an attempt to regulate the world of influencer marketing with ethical and professional rules in high-risk sectors. While in the West there is still discussion about the responsibilities and limits of influencers, China has chosen a more authoritarian path. Will this choice represent a model for other governments or will it become a warning against excessive state control? The question remains open.
It’s not necessarily wrong that digital creators have to prove their skills, but the fact remains Western social media does not require such verificationallowing those who know how to handle algorithms to become experts in any field. We must ask ourselves, therefore: who benefits from superficial information, the manipulation of public opinion and the limitation of freedom of expression? What are the real motivations behind the desire to “protect” citizens from those who do not follow the rules of power? Perhaps we will only have answers in the next few years.
