China penalises live-streaming sites for spreading lowbrow content in latest crackdown on cyberspace
- The regulator said it would impose penalties ranging from freezing content updates on main channels to suspending new user sign-ups
- China’s live-streaming market was worth US$61.3 billion in 2019 and is expected to double in size this year
China’s internet watchdog has called out some of the country’s major live-streaming sites for their “lowbrow content” as the country tightens its grip on an emerging internet sector that has flourished since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Cyberspace Administration of China named 10 live-streaming platforms, including Bilibili, Tencent-backed Huya and Douyu, as well as Xigua Video operated by ByteDance and Baidu’s Quanmin Video, for spreading lowbrow content, among other issues, according to a notice posted on Tuesday.
Bilibili counts Chinese internet giants Tencent and Alibaba, the latter being the parent company of the South China Morning Post, as its investors.
The regulator said it would impose penalties ranging from freezing content updates on main channels to suspending new user sign-ups, and would blacklist some of the offending livestreamers.
A recent examination of 31 Chinese live-streaming platforms has exposed “the prevalence of an unhealthy content ecosystem, with varying degrees of vulgarity and lowbrow content”, the watchdog said, citing indecent dress codes and vulgar language used by some female and male broadcasters.
It also said some platforms spread “unhealthy values” and allowed illegal information, while others used free online learning to promote gaming.