China on Saturday announced a new crackdown on its tightly controlled internet, targeting video apps and social media platforms to purge content deemed harmful to children.
The ruling Communist Party tightly regulates the domestic web, censoring content deemed vulgar, suggestive or politically subversive.
It has periodically pushed into specific sectors, from online influencers to gaming and shopping platforms.
In a statement on Saturday, the country’s Internet watchdog said it was launching a two-month “Clear and Bright” campaign “to effectively strengthen the protection of minors online and create a healthier, safer online environment.”
The move will “correct major problems” related to short video and live streaming platforms, social networking sites, online shopping platforms, app stores, smart devices for children and online controls for minors, the Cyberspace Administration of China said in a statement.
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It targets a variety of behaviors, including broadcasting videos that appear to glorify school bullying, adding “violent and gruesome” content to classic children’s cartoons and songs, and profiting from underage “Internet celebrity kids.”
It also aims to eliminate “mildly pornographic” and sexually suggestive products from e-commerce platforms, as well as information that lures children into “harmful friendships” or “conveys harmful values… (through) maliciously crafted online jargon and vulgar buzzwords.”
“We need to pay close attention to new manifestations of problems specifically affecting minors … and jointly support a good online ecology,” the statement said.
The latest crackdown comes as Chinese children begin their summer school holidays and follows several similar campaigns in recent years.
Censors have blocked several well-known influencers after another “Clear and Bright” campaign was launched in April against “flashy people… (who) deliberately flaunt extravagant, money-filled lifestyles”.
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The government has also severely limited the amount of time children under 18 can play online games and has previously trained its eye on e-commerce platforms that sell products it deems undesirable, such as software that bypasses official internet controls.
Source: AFP