Beijing (AsiaNews) – The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) plans to enforce strict rules on live-streaming news and entertainment, ostensibly because the latter harms young people by facilitating the dissemination of content like pornography, terrorism and fraud.
For the past couple of years, China’s live-streaming industry has grown exponentially. According to the Crédit Suisse Group, the industry may even reach US$ 5 billion by next year.
CAC’s new 24-point regulation to monitor live-streaming will come into effect as of 1st December.
Under the new guidelines, live streaming sites are required to get a licence to operate, log user data and content for 60 days, and work with the regulators to give information on the users who stream content that the government deems as threatening to national security and social order.
Under the new rules, all live-streaming hosts will have to register details of their identity cards or business licences.
Greater government controls on the web follows the imposition of tighter rules on texting, censorship on the news that "promote the western lifestyle" and content guidelines for journalists.
