China’s MSS warns of foreign spy agencies using pop-up ads for illegal aims including intelligence collection, infiltration

Global Times

By Du Qiongfang Published: Jun 21, 2026 12:26 PM

China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) warned on Sunday that foreign spy agencies are exploiting pop-up ads for intelligence collection, target identification and ideological infiltration activities, posing a threat to national security.

The MSS has ordered relevant online platform operators to immediately cease providing advertising and promotional services for unidentified overseas links, promptly blocking the spread of potential security risks, according to an article released by the MSS on Sunday.

According to the MSS, intrusive pop-up ads prompted when internet users open a webpage or launch an app are often difficult to skip and prone to accidental clicks that redirect users to another page, which creates opportunities for criminals to exploit.

The MSS reminded that some of the advertisement companies use “personalized advertising recommendations” as a cover for collecting user data. After a user clicks on a pop-up advertisement, the application transmits personal data, interest profiles, and other information stored in its database back to the advertising company. The advertising company then uses “microtargeting” algorithms to deliver personalized advertisements.

Recently, the state security authorities have discovered that foreign spy agencies have colluded with certain advertising companies to set up surveillance platforms, integrate and analyze data returned by advertising companies together with social media information, high-precision location data, and other sources to accurately identify targeted individuals’ home addresses, workplaces, and daily activity patterns, building comprehensive profiles of those individuals, so as to make tailored strategies to induce them.

The state security authorities have also found that foreign intelligence agencies use pop-up ads containing links to anti-China websites, bypass China’s internet regulatory system through nodes in neighboring regions, covertly distribute ideological infiltration content within China’s online environment, posing a serious threat to state security.

According to the MSS, relevant authorities have in recent years issued regulations on pop-up information services and internet advertising, established clear regulatory boundaries at the institutional level, and explicitly required pop-up ads to be clearly labeled as advertisements and easily closed with a single click. Amid increasingly covert online infiltration tactics by foreign intelligence agencies, the MSS has urged platforms and users to remain vigilant and take stronger precautions against potential compromise.

Zhu Wei, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law and a member of the Law and Ethics Committee at China Advertising Association, told the Global Times on Sunday that one of the flaws of pop-up ads is that the entity displaying the advertisement often does not review its content, while users may not know who placed them, creating opportunities for malicious actors to exploit the platform.

Zhu suggested strengthening oversight by requiring demand-side platforms to review ad content, landing pages, and safety, while also holding display platforms responsible for initial screening, rapid removal of problematic ads, and reporting to relevant authorities.