Children’s “tipping” banners, viewing after 10pm is prohibited in China

On Saturday, the Chinese government announced a number of changes to the way children can access and interact with content online, with the National Radio and Television Administration saying: “Platforms need to step up controls to prevent minor users from pleasing minor followers or becoming live broadcasters. themselves without a guardian. Consent.”

Like Reuters ReportThis comes in the form of two policy changes:

1) Viewers under the age of 18 will not be able to “tip”, a practice in which those watching a broadcast are able to send small amounts of money, usually in exchange for a spoken or text acknowledgment of their contribution.

2) Anyone viewing content that is streamed live through a child’s account all streams will be blocked after 10pm, and those responsible for creating the content will need to “strengthen prime-hour management for such shows”.

Note that none of this happens on Twitch or YouTube; Instead, the largest platforms in China are all local services such as Bilibili, Huya & Douyu from Tencent and Douyin, which is basically the Chinese version From TikTok.

These new laws come as part of Chinese authorities’ efforts to target what they see as “chaos” in the social media and live-streaming space, which is led by both the carrot (promotion of “appropriate and legal content”) and stick (restrictions like these).

It is also part of a broader effort by the Chinese government to tighten its control over the entire video game industry; We reported last month That through most of 2021, freezing approvals for new domestic video games was “devastating” to the industry, with an estimated 14,000 studios/developers shutting down before the process could resume again. In 2021, authorities reduced the amount of time children spent playing games“Many parents have said that the problem of gaming addiction among adolescents and children has seriously affected their ability to learn and study as well as their physical and mental health, even causing a series of societal problems,” he said.