HowToLiveBetter.THE BETTER LIFE HANDBOOK
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YOUR LIFE, YOUR OWN PACE

Building a website or platform: licenses, filings, and servers

Explore each chapter to understand the effort, benefits and context.

Read the chapter introduction

You want to build a website or app. This chapter addresses four questions in the Chinese regulatory context: what kind of business it legally constitutes, which approvals it needs, where to host it, and who is responsible for user content and money passing through it. The measures are personal freedom and money. Entries begin with criminal exposure, then prior licensing, then ongoing platform duties. The final entry offers practical server-selection judgments without quantified evidence. For employed technical staff, see the legal boundaries in chapter 11. For company registration and tax, see chapter 12. The platform licensing guide contains a license comparison and server-selection decision table.

Ideas for a better everyday

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Found:11 ideas
Money & work

Use a licensed payment provider to settle directly with sellers instead of collecting their money in your platform's account

Receiving buyers' money in your own account and forwarding it to sellers can put you in regulated payment territory. A Chinese non-bank payment business requires central-bank approval and at least RMB 100 million in actual paid-in capital. Unauthorized activity can result in closure, confiscation, fines for the business and responsible people, and criminal liability in serious cases. Design settlement through a properly licensed provider.

A Stronger evidence
No costSome time
Money & work

Paid information services require a license; transaction-processing platforms have a different classification, while noncommercial information services require filing

A website providing paid internet information services in China needs the appropriate value-added telecommunications business license. Individuals cannot obtain this company license. Noncommercial information services require a free filing. Unauthorized commercial operation can lead to confiscation, fines, and closure in serious cases. Whether your platform falls within online transaction processing requires classification of the actual business; see the Notes.

A Stronger evidence
Higher costOngoing effort
Money & work

Online performance businesses need a cultural operations license; audiovisual program licensing generally requires state ownership or control

Operating an online performance business, including game displays and commentary covered by the cited rules, requires a provincial Online Culture Business Permit whose scope expressly includes online performance. A decision is due within 20 days of acceptance, and the permit lasts three years. Keep performance recordings for at least 60 days. Unauthorized commercial internet cultural activity can result in an order to stop, a warning, and a fine up to RMB 30,000; continued operation after an order can lead to cultural-market blacklisting.

A Stronger evidence
Higher costOngoing effort
Money & work

If users sell through your platform, verify sellers, report required information, and retain transaction records for three years

In China, a marketplace must verify sellers' identity, address, contacts, and required permits and maintain registration files. Recheck and update them at least every six months. Report seller identity to market regulators and required identity and tax-related information to tax authorities. Retain product and transaction information for at least three years. Failures can lead to correction orders and, if uncorrected, RMB 20,000–100,000 fines.

A Stronger evidence
No costOngoing effort
Money & work

Manage user content through review procedures, reporting channels, and prompt action on unlawful information

Chinese platforms have their own content-management obligations. Establish procedures for registration, posts, comments, ongoing monitoring, and incident response. Put a reporting button where users can easily find it. On discovering unlawful information, promptly stop its transmission, preserve records, and report to the competent authority. Failure can bring RMB 50,000–500,000 fines, with higher penalties for more serious cases.

A Stronger evidence
Small costOngoing effort
Money & work

Information publishing and instant messaging services require real-identity information

If your Chinese service provides posting or messaging, it must obtain the required real-identity information when service is opened. If the user does not supply it, the relevant service cannot be provided. Users can still display nicknames. The cited livestream rules permit verification through methods such as mobile telephone numbers. Failure to comply brings a correction order; refusal or serious cases can mean RMB 50,000–500,000 fines and possible closure.

A Stronger evidence
Small costSome time
Money & work

Do not register under-16s as livestream presenters; handle tipping according to the applicable age rules

Chinese law prohibits registering a livestream-presenter account for someone under 16. For a 16- or 17-year-old, verify identity and obtain parental or other guardian consent. The cited April 2026 tipping notice uses three groups: no tipping service below age 8; guardian consent for ages 8–16; and guardian consent or verified income documentation for older minors. Unauthorized spending by a minor can be recoverable when the legal conditions for invalidity or lack of consent are met.

A Stronger evidence
No costSome time
Money & work

Act promptly on infringement notices; for e-commerce counter-notices, the statutory waiting period is 15 days

If a rights holder sends an infringement notice with preliminary evidence, take timely necessary measures such as removal, blocking, or disabling links, and forward it to the seller. Delay can make the platform jointly liable for additional damage. If the seller provides a counter-statement, forward it to the rights holder. Under China's E-commerce Law, if no notice of an administrative complaint or lawsuit arrives within 15 days after delivery, promptly end the measures.

A Stronger evidence
No costSome time
Money & work

Do not send user information abroad casually: cross-border transfers have legal conditions and numerical thresholds

Sending information about mainland users to an overseas server is a cross-border transfer. Hosting the website overseas does not change that. China's Personal Information Protection Law provides routes through a cyberspace authority security assessment, professional certification, a standard contract, or another legally specified condition. Where the law requires it, tell users who receives their information abroad and why, and obtain separate consent for the transfer.

A Stronger evidence
No costSome time
Money & work

Choose hosting by outage tolerance and operational capacity before comparing prices

The main distinction is what support and recourse you have when something fails. Major providers usually offer filing support, published qualifications, incident notices, contractual compensation terms, and reachable contacts. A smaller provider may cost half as much, but overselling, disappearance, or disconnection by its upstream supplier can leave you stranded. A static site with no user data may need only an inexpensive VPS.

C Experience & consensus
Small costSome time

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