LeTV Documents Expose Details of CCP Internet Censorship

Illustration: A media professional notes that these "special operations" are essentially designed to instill a sense of fear, leading to self-censorship. (Photo by Patrick Lux/Getty Images)

[People News] A set of internal documents referred to as the "LeTV Censorship Directives" from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regarding internet content control has recently been released. Compiled by China Digital Times, these materials are part of the "Truth Hall" in China's digital space, covering the period from March 2, 2017, to March 10, 2020, and include a total of 718 entries. The documents detail how internet regulatory authorities issued requests for deletion, filtering, and lockdown to LeTV, as well as the processes by which platform censors implemented these directives and regularly reported data.

As reported by Radio Free Asia, these documents are archived with daily numbering under the title "LeTV Directives." The directives distinguish between "deletion" and "filtering," with the former referring to content that has been removed after being published online, and the latter referring to content that was intercepted before publication. Representative directives highlighted by China Digital Times cover a range of topics, including the highest leadership, ethnicity and religion, foreign affairs and international relations, the Hong Kong anti-extradition movement, public incidents, public health, and stability maintenance and rights protection. Some directives also specify that when handling content, the platform must categorize and retain samples.

Internet Censorship Becomes Routine

In an interview with this station, veteran Chinese media figure Qian Ying (Qian Ying) noted that CCP internet censorship has a long-standing history, and in recent years, an increasing number of departments have become involved in the censorship process. She stated, "People can no longer live without the internet; virtually every platform you can think of has some form of censorship, including self-media platforms, online communities, and forums. The management bodies include the Cyberspace Administration, the Internet Police, and security units. The subjects under regulation encompass news media platforms, self-media platforms, and forum communities, and the scope has expanded significantly."

Qian Ying also mentioned that news organizations typically maintain their own blacklist of forbidden words, which includes a significant number of sensitive terms. She remarked, "Pro-China media in Hong Kong are an exception; other media outlets may even find their names included in the blacklist, such as Hong Kong's Ming Pao and the now-defunct Apple Daily, among others. Some of these blacklists contain tens of thousands of phrases."

Sensitive topics are routinely addressed in daily operations.

In content concerning Xi Jinping, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, the LeTV censorship directives have established a relatively fixed classification template. Documentation indicates that relevant content is categorized and counted, encompassing areas such as information about Xi Jinping and his relatives, discussions on policies and high-level personnel relations, allusions in social hot topics, information related to outbound activities, and reprints of articles from overseas.

Regarding ethnic and religious issues, the materials categorize content related to Tibet into rumors and hearsay, ethnic separatism, religious extremism, information from overseas media, illegal gatherings, sensitive cases and incidents, dissemination of "VPN" tools, methods for producing violent terror and explosives, as well as content related to sensitive dates like "310." Similar stipulations are found in directives concerning Xinjiang; for example, a LeTV directive from January 1, 2019, specified the need to track the number of deletions and filters for "disseminating 'VPN' software and usage methods to individuals in Xinjiang."

Li Xiaohong, a former employee of mainland internet platforms, stated to our station that these platforms generally have internal review departments and technical filtering systems. When regulatory authorities issue directives, platforms convert relevant content into keywords, manual review standards, or specific cleanup tasks. She revealed, 'The Central Propaganda Department publishes a list of banned words each year, and many official terms that have been in use since the Republic of China period are also prohibited for news media. For instance, 'village chief' must now be referred to as 'village director'; 'Hong Kong's return' must be changed to 'the People's Republic of China resumes exercising sovereignty over Hong Kong.' The names of national leaders cannot be used casually and typically only appear when reprinting the full texts from official sources like Xinhua News Agency or People's Daily.'

Documents indicate that topics involving rights protection lawyers, police, military, the Lei Yang case, early pandemic information, the Li Wenliang incident, the Hong Kong anti-extradition movement, the Fan Bingbing tax case, and the Shenyang sexual assault case involving student Gao Yan have all been included in LeTV's review directives. Some directives require platforms to summarize handling situations by time period, and in addition to the number of deletions and filtered content, they must also provide samples, posting information, and screenshots. Li Xiaohong believes this demonstrates that censorship extends beyond merely deleting content; it also involves recording speakers, tracking transmission paths, and assessing the scale of public opinion.

Files and sensitive word databases serve to complement each other.

An index published by China Digital Times indicates that 718 censorship directives concerning LeEco were issued between March 2017 and March 2020, with a notable increase in the number of directives in 2017 and 2019, and data collected only up to March 2020. China Digital Times explained that the 'LeEco Censorship Directives' serve as a complement to materials leaked from the same platform, such as the 'LeEco Video 2017 Sensitive Word Library' and 'LeEco Video 2015-2016 Some Removed Content.' The sensitive word library illustrates how the platform filters certain words in advance, while the removed content logs which videos or programs have been taken down. Additionally, the daily directives document how regulatory authorities have requested actions regarding specific events and public sentiment.

Mr Tang, a scholar well-versed in the online review process, informed our station that the backend data accumulated by Chinese platforms during the censorship process often provides more insight into the issues than the visible deletion results. He noted that while users may see posts and videos being blocked, they might not realize that the backend retains processing records, including account details, click rates, dissemination levels, and handling outcomes. This information can potentially become internal records that may be subject to further investigation. △