Over 7,200 livestream rooms punished by national cyberspace body

More than 7,200 livestream rooms, where groups of hosts engaged in improper activities such as spreading vulgar content and violating children's rights, have been punished as part of a campaign, China's top internet regulator announced on Monday. Over 2,200 of these rooms faced severe penalties.

Since the Cyberspace Administration of China began a two-month campaign in July to address issues with group livestream shows, it has increased content oversight and tightened management of these operations.

Several multi-channel network agencies have been removed from online platforms due to their serious violations in group livestream shows, according to the administration.

A group livestream show involves a team of hosts taking turns to perform, chat, and interact with viewers in real time. According to a recent report by the China Association of Performing Arts, the group livestream market is expected to generate over 15 billion yuan ($2.23 billion) by 2025, accounting for more than 7 percent of the livestreaming and short-video performance sector. With more than 8,000 such livestreaming rooms active daily, this represents an increase of over 20 percent from the previous year.

In pursuit of online attention and quick profits, some group livestreamers have resorted to using vulgar or sexually suggestive content to solicit tips, or employing high-pressure tactics like rapid-fire shouting to create anxiety and encourage impulsive spending. In some extreme cases, hosts have even coached children to bypass parental controls by using their parents' identification to participate in tipping.

The administration emphasized that it launched this campaign to tackle these problems, and cyberspace regulators nationwide have urged internet platforms to fulfill their responsibilities in reviewing livestream content and to use technology to detect vulgar and inappropriate interactions in livestream rooms.

The ongoing campaign has effectively reduced vulgar content and deterred actions that entice minors to tip hosts, the administration stated, committing to continue efforts to guide and supervise platforms in further cleaning up the online environment.