Online, but off the mark

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In China, Internet security and the supervision of online content come under the jurisdiction of the Cyberspace Administration, the country's top Internet watchdog. The administration has issued a public statement criticizing Baidu's forum management and supervision, and it has ordered the company to correct misinformation and provide clear explanations of issues.

"Baidu Tieba is disordered and has made illegal commercial moves. Some information on the forums is not objective, and some also contained illegal content, including terrorism and violence," the statement said.

The authority said members of the public had also complained about illegal information posted on Baidu Tieba. "Some forums had fake advertisements, images of violence and content that broke privacy conventions," according to an official, who declined to give his name or the exact number of complaints related to medical care.

"Such improper content has seriously damaged the online environment and its users," he said, adding that the administration has ordered Baidu to strengthen its regulatory and supervisory systems to improve information security.

Li Yuxiao, head of the Internet Management Law Research Center at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunication, said Web operators must pay more attention to online communities related to public-interest issues "because the topics on the forums will influence people's health and daily lives".

"We have a nationwide rule that requires the government to review operators of websites related to medical information, news, education, and health and food safety. However, there is a still a lack of regulation covering the content of online communities of this type," he said.

"As Web operators, they have an obligation to increase supervision of content that concerns people's livelihoods. Although sometimes it's hard to review every piece of content, it is essential that we clarify the operators' responsibilities."

Zuo Xiaodong, vice-president of the China Information Security Research Institute, said it is not suitable for website operators to benefit from such online public communities.

"Public interest should be their main priority. It won't prevent them from continuing to make huge profits," Zuo said. "Web operators cannot ignore improper information on their platforms. They have to make the right decision when balancing profit and public interest."

Meng Jing contributed to this story.