Douyin removes malefactor accounts from platform

Accounts of several influencers with millions of followers on Douyin, a popular video-sharing platform, were permanently banned due to posting videos full of sexual innuendo, according to a statement from Douyin on Tuesday.

With all followers erased and certifications for live commerce revoked, a total of 22 accounts have been suspended. Of these, nine had more than one million followers and highest had over four million.

Besides posting videos with sexual innuendo, these influencers would also divert followers to illegal third-party pornography platforms or scam websites.

With the aim of maintaining an orderly, clean and healthy platform and provide high-quality services to users, Douyin adopts strict content screening.

After related topics began trending on social media, many netizens echoed their support. A netizen on Weibo, a Twitter-like social platform, commented: "Can supervision of videos be any stricter? Influencers nowadays have no bottom lines and the videos full of innuendo keep emerging on social platforms. The platform should take a bigger responsibility in regulating them."

The Cyberspace Administration of China issued a notification with 13 requirements on Monday to further regulate self-media accounts, particularly individual accounts with no affiliations with outlets or organizations publishing news or information.