The recently passed revisions to the country’s Cybersecurity Law, which are set to take effect on Jan. 1, tightens liabilities for cybersecurity breaches and introduces a new framework for AI safety and development.
Beijing will tighten oversight of artificial intelligence and other fast-moving technologies under its newly amended Cybersecurity Law, a senior internet official said Friday, with additional plans to strengthen China’s cybersecurity framework and sharpen enforcement tools.
The recently passed revisions to the country’s Cybersecurity Law, which are set to take effect on Jan. 1, tightens liabilities for cybersecurity breaches and introduces a new framework for AI safety and development.
Speaking at a meeting* Friday, Li Min, a division chief at the Bureau of Law-Based Cyberspace Governance under the Cyberspace Administration of China, or CAC, called the revision an opportunity to reinforce China’s institutional foundations for cybersecurity governance.
"Regulators will move quickly to update supporting rules that sit beneath the Cybersecurity Law,"
Li said.
They will also track advances in AI and other emerging technologies, focus on pressing risks and prioritize urgent needs, Li said. He added that they will accelerate the drafting of new regulations, policy frameworks, application guidelines and ethical principles for key sectors.
More importantly, Li said, Chinese authorities will tighten oversight of emerging technologies.
The rapid growth of new technologies, applications and business models has transformed productivity but also introduced mounting concerns over personal information misuse, data leaks, algorithmic bias and deepfakes.
The amended law clarifies and expands liability rules, giving regulators sharper tools to pursue violations. It also introduces a provision aimed at addressing AI-related risks while supporting the technology’s development.
Authorities will target issues that have drawn strong public complaints, including the illegal collection and use of personal data, the spread of unlawful information and abuses of AI tools, according to Li.
They plan to step up enforcement, refine measures tailored to new technologies and applications like AI, set clearer benchmarks for administrative discretion and ensure penalties are proportionate, Li added.
Research on cutting-edge legal questions
Li also underscored the need for forward-looking research on the legal implications of emerging technologies.
Quoting President Xi Jinping, he said authorities should “keep pace with research and urgently fill gaps,” ensuring that new industries and business models develop within a sound legal framework.
Given China’s status as the world’s largest developing country and home to the biggest population of internet users, the official said policymakers must account for the complexity created by massive platforms, diverse digital services and rapidly changing application scenarios.
He said China will deepen research on frontier cyber law issues and move early to address the legal challenges emerging from new internet technologies, applications and business models.
Through these efforts, authorities aim to push broad innovation in cyber governance concepts, tools and practices to boost the overall effectiveness of China’s internet regulation, Li added.
*"Forum on Resilience Assessment and Trends of the Cybersecurity Law," hosted by the Third Research Institute of the Ministry of Public Security and Suzhou Research Institute of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Beijing, Nov.28 2025.
Source: MLex
