
China’s anti-porn office cracks down on videos of women whispering into microphones
ASMR videos trigger physical response to aural cues
Do the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when somebody whispers in your ear?

It adds up to an enjoyable audible experience for enthusiasts, who love feeling tingles whizz down their necks while watching these videos.
They said that a lot of pornographic content has spread online under the cover of ASMR, and ordered platforms to monitor it more closely.
The ASMR community has long tried to shake off the stigma of being associated with pornography, saying there is a distinction between the aural pleasure they crave and sexual feeling.
At the same time, some ASMR videos do seem to blur the line between the two.
This is a video originally live-streamed by one of China’s most popular ASMR hosts, Xuanzi Giant 2 Rabbit, on Huya.com. In the video, she speaks softly into an ear-shaped microphone, taps it, covers it in plastic, even rubs a Q-tip inside it, creating a variety of sounds to trigger ASMR.
ASMR is even referred to as “in-skull orgasm” by many Chinese internet users, highlighting the sexual image of some videos.

While this is the first time the Chinese government officially cracked down on ASMR, some platforms have had bouts of self-censorship in the past.
Back in January, Douyu, one of China’s top streaming platforms, banned videos of moaning or other visually or aurally suggestive cues such as caressing or licking the microphone.
The exact biochemistry behind ASMR still isn't well known, but the pleasurable experience is closely associated with the sense of intimacy that these sounds trigger in listeners.
We spoke to Microsoft’s Mandarin-speaking bot
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For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.
