Among the new regulations are fines and jail time for anyone who sends pornographic text messages.
Called the “Law on Public Security Administration Punishment,” violators will face fines of more than $60 per infraction and jail terms as long as nine days.
According to an official statement published by China’s Xinhua news agency Tuesday, the regulations are in response to the country’s burgeoning cellphone population, which currently stands at more than 260 million users, or nearly the entire population of the U.S.
In the statement, police said a massive public education campaign would soon be underway to educate citizens of the new law, which also includes similar fines for peeping Toms, rowdy soccer fans, people who use their pets to threaten others and people who sing too loud.
“[The law] has provided reasonable punishment for many violations,” said the statement. “As a result, people should be more careful about their activities in order not to violate the law.”