
Five things live streamers in China cannot do
Revealing clothes? Sexy whispering? Seductive banana eating? Yup, all banned
Live streamers in China now have a dress code. Although the dress code is quite vague (as any parent knows, “revealing” can be a flexible concept), this is the first time that China's multi-billion dollar live streaming industry is facing more systematic regulations.
And as the country tightens the screws on popular entertainment, there are likely more rules to come. Here are some of the things live streamers in China have to avoid.
1) No naughty clothes

The new rules also stipulate that broadcasters should not wear clothes containing text or information prohibited by national laws and regulations. What does that mean? Well, we're guessing t-shirts with “Free Tibet” are a no-go.
2) No whispering

For Chinese regulators, this whispering turned out a little too risque. This is why the local antipornography office forced a number of platforms to remove a great bulk of ASMR content even though the content creators claim there is nothing sexual about it. In this case, censors might have taken comments from Chinese internet users describing ASMR as “in-skull orgasm” too literally.
China’s anti-porn office cracks down on videos of women whispering into microphones
3) No bad renditions of the national anthem
A young live streamer’s performance, in which she warbles the Chinese anthem while wearing a pair of reindeer antlers, only lasted seconds. But it was enough to brandish her as a public enemy.

Streaming celebrity Yang Kaili -- known as Lige -- reportedly had 2 million fans, but that following wasn’t enough for her platform of choice Huya, which dumped her like a pile of bricks. This was despite her promise to watch patriotic documentaries and undertake “education on political ideologies”.
Internet star banned from streaming after singing national anthem
4) No history jokes

Chen Yifer was a streaming darling before someone dug out a 2-year-old video of her making fun of the Japanese invasion of China and mentioning the Nanjing Massacre. This got her banned from streaming platform Douyu (along with plenty of backlash online).
Chinese streamers to be sent on patriotic tours after star mocked the Nanking Massacre
5) No teenage moms
Streaming site Kuaishou, popular among China's poor and rural, landed in trouble after a peculiar trend started to appear on its platform: Teenage moms. Mothers young as 14 started sharing their lives on Kuaishou. One of the most popular young moms, 19-year-old Yang Qingning, racked up 45 million followers.

Why do people in China spend so much on live streamers?
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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.
