ByteDance’s Douyin steps up oversight of live-streaming hosts, closing 290,000 accounts last year for ‘harmful’ content
- Some outdoor live streaming and challenge games led to problems such as vulgar language and harassment of passers-by by hosts during their live sessions
- Chinese regulators have increasingly tightened their leash on the live-streaming sector, which was worth US$98.2 billion in 2023
Douyin, the sibling app of ByteDance’s global short video hit TikTok, said it imposed additional oversight on live-streaming hosts and their activities during 2023 to rein in inappropriate practices.
The live-streaming crackdown conducted throughout 2023 shut down more than 290,000 host accounts, including some top influencers, as the platform sought to weed out practices it deemed harmful, such as outdoor live-streaming containing vulgar content, improper challenge games among hosts, as well as enticing viewers to spend more money, the company said in a post published to its official WeChat account on Tuesday.
Some outdoor live-streaming and challenge games led to problems such as vulgar language and harassment of passers-by by hosts during their live sessions, according to the post.
In a joint effort with local authorities in Changsha, the capital of central Hunan province, Douyin removed the accounts of more than 10,000 hosts since August last year.
The banned hosts had engaged in “harmful” outdoor live-streaming activities in Changsha, a major tourist spot which attracted live-streamers who wanted to broadcast its bustling nightlife.