China bans 40 more livestreamers for ‘illegal’ activities in latest crackdown on cyberspace

A written proposal published by the performing arts organisation last week called for a stricter content audit of the country’s online livestreaming industry. In June Internet watchdog The Cyberspace Administration of China called out some of the country’s major livestreaming platforms for spreading lowbrow content. — SCMP

More than 40 livestreamers were banned by Chinese regulators for “engaging in illegal or irregular activities” as the country’s authorities step up control of the Internet and the streaming industry, which has boomed amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The online live performance streaming branch of the China Association of Performing Arts has published its sixth livestreamer blacklist as a part of the movement to “clean up the internet and to maintain an orderly and healthy development of the industry”, banning 48 broadcasters from registering or performing livestreams for five years.