According to the China Internet Network Information Center, the number of internet users in China had reached 1.03 billion by December last year, an increase of 42.96 million compared to December 2020, and the internet penetration rate reached 73.0 percent. Users spend 28.5 hours a week online on average, 2.3 hours more than in December 2020.

This is the first time that the total number of internet users in China has exceeded 1 billion. That represents the overall progress of society and development of the country.

The huge number of internet users have formed a big public sphere that cannot be ignored in all aspects. It can serve as a bridge connecting the society and the government by promoting their exchanges.

Such a large number of internet users, if well managed, can contribute to the improvement of social governance. However, that also poses new difficulties and challenges for social governance.

For example, there have been frequent incidents of cyber violence in recent years, causing economic losses, physical and mental damage, and even claiming the lives of victims. Yet not all perpetrators have been held accountable for their behaviors.

Another challenge is that misinformation sometimes can easily dominate the opinion market for various reasons. The harm misinformation causes can mislead people, hurt businesses and disrupt markets.

A healthy environment in cyberspace requires the improvement of network users' media literacy, which should be included in the national compulsory education system to make the people more capable of tapping into the potential of the internet for the good of not only themselves but also the public from childhood.

The cyberspace administrators, lawmakers and platform operators all have their due parts to play to ensure a rules-based order in cyberspace, and ensure users abide by the law.

Strengthening regulation of the internet is also of vital importance to guarantee national and financial security.