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Video platforms suspend fly-by bullet chats as Tiananmen anniversary approaches
China’s online censors are hard at work every year around June 4th
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS
We’re just a few days away from the 30th anniversary of the June 4th Tiananmen Square crackdown, which means China’s censors are hard at work as internet users find there are fewer places for them to comment online.
One very conspicuous target of censors this year is “bullet chat.” Originated in Japan and popularized in China by anime video site Bilibili, fly-by comments overlaid on videos is an iconic feature for many video streamers in China.
Bilibili, China’s biggest anime site, covers the screen in user comments
On May 29, five video sites -- anime sites Bilibili and AcFun and live-streaming platforms Douyu, Huya and YY Live -- all said that they would suspend their bullet comment function until June 6. They all cited the same reason: “System upgrade and maintenance.”
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Previously-posted comments are not affected, but users will not be able to post any new bullet chats during this period.
But this is China we’re talking about, so of course many people aren’t buying the “system upgrade” excuse.
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“What a coincidence,” one Weibo user said sarcastically. “Maybe everyone is troubled by a super bug.”
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