A netizen once witnessed a performance by two web hosts on Douyin, a prominent Chinese short video platform. This incident serves as a backdrop to the significant measures and guidelines put forth by the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA). Photo: IC

Strengthening Online Live-Streaming Regulations for a Better Future

Preventing Negative Trends in Online Live-Streaming

The NRTA's Friday seminar in Xiamen emphasized the strict prevention of negative trends such as celebrity hype and excessive entertainment. It highlighted the importance of promptly prohibiting programs that harm minors' physical and mental health. This red line for online live-streaming programs is the dissemination of harmful political contents. Program creators are urged to enhance their political awareness and strengthen their judgment, understanding, and execution capabilities. They must firmly grasp the correct political direction, public opinion guidance, and value orientation to prevent the infiltration and dissemination of harmful political contents.Creators must also adhere to the bottom line of moral and legal standards. The management department for online live-streaming programs should strengthen inspections, random checks, monitoring, safety warnings, and penalties for violations. They are required to promptly address prominent issues that violate public order and morals, are pathological and harmful, and endanger minors' physical and mental health.

Special Campaign to Improve Online Environment for Minors

In mid-July, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) launched a special campaign to improve the online environment for minors. Over 4.3 million pieces of illegal and harmful information concerning minors have been cleaned up and intercepted. More than 130,000 accounts have been disposed of, and more than 2,000 websites and platforms have been removed. This shows the firm stance of the authorities in safeguarding the well-being of minors online.The requirements also noted the need to take strict measures to prevent negative trends like celebrity worship, hype, and excessive entertainment and to expose typical cases in a timely manner.

Enhancing Education and Management of Online Streamers

As early as 2021, relevant Chinese authorities initiated rectifications regarding excessive entertainment in television programs. Broadcasting and television stations in four provinces showed varying degrees of excessive entertainment and content related to celebrity worship and hype, which were required to be rectified. Platform institutions should enhance the education and training of top streamers, strengthen the management of their behavior, and implement personnel management mechanisms such as streamer onboarding, classification, education and training, and credit evaluation. Online streamers, talent agencies, and program production organizations should be supervised to consciously resist vulgarity, mediocrity, and sycophancy and not become "slaves" to the market and traffic.

Encouraging High-Quality Program Production

The meeting encouraged creators to produce high-quality programs. They are encouraged to focus on major themes and memorable moments, fully leveraging the advantages and characteristics of online live-streaming programs to narrate compelling Chinese stories. Creators should adhere to a people-centered creative orientation and continuously innovate in the forms of content that the public enjoys, thereby enhancing the sense of gain, happiness, and security among the people.