Negative celebrity chasing trends and excessive entertainment banned in live broadcast: China’s radio and television watchdog

An Internet user watches a performance by two web hosts on Douyin, a Chinese short video platform. Photo: IC

The National Radio and Television Administration of China (NRTA) on Friday proposed three requirements for domestic online live broadcast programs, emphasizing the need to strictly prevent negative trends such as celebrity hype and excessive entertainment. He also stressed the importance of quickly banning programs that harm the physical and mental health of minors.

The requirements were presented at a seminar on online live broadcast program management held by the NRTA in Xiamen, east China’s Fujian Province, on Friday.

The requirements emphasize that the red line for online live streaming programs is the broadcast of harmful content related to politics.

The seminar emphasized that program makers should increase their political awareness and effectively strengthen their political judgment, understanding and execution capabilities.

They should firmly understand the right political direction, public opinion direction and value orientation, and resolutely prevent the infiltration and dissemination of harmful policy-related content in programs.

The requirements emphasized that creators must adhere to the most basic moral and legal standards.

The online live broadcast program management department should strengthen inspections, random checks, monitoring, safety warnings and sanctions for violations, according to the NRTA.

The management department is required to promptly investigate and deal with significant issues that violate public order and morals, are pathological and harmful, and endanger the physical and mental health of minors, in accordance with the requirements.

In mid-July, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) launched a special campaign to improve the online environment for minors. More than 4.3 million illegal and harmful information about minors have been cleaned and intercepted, more than 130,000 accounts have been deleted, and more than 2,000 websites and platforms have been taken down, according to CCTV information.

The requirements said strict measures should be taken to prevent negative trends such as celebrity worship, hype and excessive entertainment, and typical cases should be revealed in a timely manner.

As early as 2021, the relevant Chinese authorities had initiated corrective measures regarding excessive entertainment in television programs. Radio and television channels in four Chinese provinces featured excessive entertainment and content related to celebrity worship and hype to varying degrees, which needed to be resolutely rectified, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Platform institutions should improve the education and training of top streamers, strengthen their behavior management, and implement personnel management mechanisms such as onboarding, classification, education, and training of streamers and credit evaluation, according to the NRTA.

Online streamers, talent agencies and program production organizations must be supervised to consciously resist vulgarity, mediocrity and sycophancy, and never become “slaves” to the market and traffic, as required .

The meeting also highlighted that creators are encouraged to produce high-quality programs.

Creators are encouraged to focus on major themes and memorable moments, take full advantage of the advantages and characteristics of online live broadcast programs, and tell compelling Chinese stories.

The requirements also stipulate that creators must adhere to a people-centered creative orientation and continually innovate the forms of content enjoyed by the public, thereby strengthening the sense of gain, happiness and security among the population.

World Time