TikTok sibling Douyin cuts off Cantonese live streams in China because of ‘unrecognisable language’
- Several Cantonese-speaking influencers say their live-streaming sessions on Douyin were suspended after the platform failed to recognise the language
- Language has become a point of contention in southern Guangdong province, where the local dialect Cantonese is frequently used, in addition to Mandarin
A number of Cantonese-speaking influencers on Douyin, the Chinese version of short video app TikTok, have voiced frustration after their live-streaming shows were abruptly cut off because the system failed to recognise the language they spoke.
According to screenshots posted by the live streamers, their shows were suspended either because of “unrecognisable languages or texts”.
One of the affected influencers “Guangdong liangzai feng shao”, who has 4.6 million followers on Douyin, said in a now-deleted video that he found it “ridiculous” that the platform could not recognise Cantonese.
He said he had decided to reduce the amount of clips he uploads on Douyin and added that he rarely conducts live-streaming sessions on Douyin now “because the platform restricts traffic to and even bans the accounts of Cantonese-speaking users’.
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“Qin jiaoshou”, another affected streamer, asked in a video, “Banning Cantonese live streamers without a reason … isn’t this discrimination against Cantonese people and the Cantonese language?”
ByteDance, owner of Douyin and TikTok, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday during China’s week-long National Day holiday.