Tougher rules for ads on internet released

China has introduced a tougher regulation to take a firmer grip on the country's internet advertising industry following the death of a college student, who sought treatment for his disease on online search giant Baidu Inc.

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce on Friday released a new internet advertising regulation on its website. The regulation, which takes effect on Sept 1, has made it clear for the first time that China now considers all pay-for-performance searches as advertising.

Zhang Guohua, head of the advertisement department at the administration, said on Friday that search results displayed on online search engines and e-commerce platforms were considered as advertisements as long as their rankings were influenced by financial factors rather than appearing in their order of relevance to search terms.