According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, China would increase efforts to foster a “civilized” internet by boosting monitoring of news sites and online platforms and urging them to support key socialist ideals.

Following years of unbridled expansion and rapid change, China’s regulators have been attempting to tighten control over society by tightening oversight of a variety of areas, including technology, education, and entertainment.

Cyberspace should be used to promote education about the ruling Communist Party and its achievements, according to guidelines published by the State Council, the news agency reported.

A clear-cut stand should be taken against “historical nihilism”, defined as any attempt to use the past to question the party’s leading role or the “inevitability” of Chinese socialism, and good moral values should be promoted, such as by publicizing cases involving model workers, it said.

Behavioral norms in cyberspace should also be strengthened by cultivating ethics and rules that conform to socialist core values, it said, adding that efforts should be made to help young people use the internet “correctly” and “safely”.

Internet platforms will be required to improve self-discipline and governance over content platforms such as live streaming will be strengthened, with the public encouraged to participate in supervision.

The formulation, revision and implementation of laws such as ones pertaining to cybercrime and the protection of minors would also be accelerated, Xinhua reported.