ICP license

ICP license (abbreviation for Internet Content Provider; Chinese: ICP备案; pinyin: ICP bèi'àn; literally: "ICP registration/filing") is a permit issued by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to permit China-based websites to operate in China. The ICP license numbers for Chinese websites can often be found on the bottom of the front webpage.

History

This license regime was instated by the Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国电信条例) that was promulgated in September 2000.^[1] By the letter of the law, all websites with their own domain name that operate inside China are required to obtain a license, and China-based Internet service providers are required to block the site if a license is not acquired within a grace period. Licenses are issued at the provincial level.

Operating from China is also a prerequisite for acquiring a license. Foreign companies such as Google, unable to acquire an ICP license on their own, often partner with Chinese Internet companies to use the licenses of the Chinese company.^[2][3]

Details

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issues two different types of ICP numbers, which are managed at the provincial level:^[4]

• ICP license for commercial websites, which cover any website offering goods or services to customers. These numbers follow the format 京ICP证12345678号 (in this example, "京" represents Beijing).
• ICP filing for non-commercial websites which are purely informational and are not involved in direct sales. These numbers follow the format 京ICP备12345678号 (in this example, "京" represents Beijing).

Obtaining an ICP number takes an average span of 20 business days after submission of documents to a hosting provider. If the documents are deemed valid upon review by the provider, they are forwarded onto the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for further review. If at either stage the documents are rejected, the applicant is required to submit additional documents.^[4]

See also

• Internet censorship in China
• Internet in China

References

1. State Council of the People's Republic of China (2005-12-10). 中华人民共和国电信条例 (in Chinese). Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Archived from the original on 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
2. Bishop, John; Chris Myrick (2006-02-23). "Google license issue seized by China to make political statement". Focus. Forbes. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
3. Lemon, Sumner (2006-02-21). "Nothing unusual about Google borrowing ICP". Infoworld. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
4. Get an Internet Content Provider (ICP) number for your public website, Microsoft Corporation

External links

• Ministry of Information Industry Records (Chinese)