Did China just pass a law requiring influencers to have a degree?
China’s new law requiring influencers to hold a degree to create content on specific topics is neither new nor really a law.
Reports have been circulating on social networks and news websites suggesting that the new law requires influencers in China to have credentials to speak on topics like medicine, finance, and education. Otherwise, they may face hefty fines.
Many social media users praised the law, saying their own countries need similar regulations.
Raigirdas Boruta, a China expert in the Indo-Pacific program at the Geopolitics and Security Studies Center, tells Cybernews that he is unaware of recent Chinese laws or regulations requiring influencers to hold degrees in specific fields.
However, the Cyberspace Administration of China has recently launched an initiative to fight influencers’ attempts to commit donation fraud.
He says a two-month special campaign emphasizes major issues with false identities, such as fake princesses, impoverished individuals, doctors, soldiers, and teachers, that deceive users into donating.
Last year, a Chinese man was arrested for posing as a delivery driver who worked with his baby. He profited from live-streaming by falsely claiming that the daughter’s mother abandoned the family, and he was working to support the child’s livelihood.
Policy requires adhering to the official line
The recent reports, however, may refer to the “Code of Conduct for Online Broadcasters” issued by the Chinese government back in 2022.
The policy indeed requires broadcasters to obtain professional qualifications to create content requiring a high level of professional expertise, such as medical and health, finance, law, and education, and provide credentials to broadcast platforms.
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At the same time, the Code of Conduct is heavily focused on ensuring that streamed content aligns with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) line.
For example, broadcasters are required to adhere to the “correct political direction,” actively practice “the core socialist values,” and “promote excellent traditional Chinese culture.”
The guideline prohibits content that weakens, distorts, or denies the leadership of the CCP and the socialist system and damages the public image of the country’s army, police, and judicial system.
Serious violations of the Code of Conduct may result in broadcasters being blacklisted and not allowed to resume broadcasting by changing accounts or platforms, according to the guidelines. Those who commit crimes will be held criminally liable according to the law.
Social networks are under intense scrutiny
According to 2025 data, there are about 1.08 billion active social media user identities in China, accounting for about 75% of the country’s population.
Due to the CCP’s tight grip on freedom of expression, online spaces in the country are under intense scrutiny.
The Great Firewall, a modern internet censorship system, prevents Chinese internet users from accessing most Western websites and social media, including Google, Wikipedia, and Instagram.
Meanwhile, the government closely watches Chinese networks. For example, the most used social media app in China, WeChat, enables keyword and image censorship for users with accounts registered to mainland China phone numbers.
A user’s message passes through a server that detects if it includes blacklisted keywords before it is sent to the recipient.
Censored topics include criticism of the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, and the CCP, the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, and China-occupied Tibet, among others.
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