China to regulate online live streaming services

A woman and a man in a commercial live streaming event help sell essentials in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo/China Daily]

BEIJING - Chinese authorities on Friday publicized a regulation about online live streaming services, ordering service providers and content releasers to obtain qualifications and act according to the rules.

For online live streaming of news, service providers are obliged to censor content before releasing it, said the regulation released by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).

Service providers should be well-staffed and have the technical ability to stop live streams immediately, according to the regulation, which takes effect on Dec 1, 2016.

Online live streaming has grown rapidly, but some streaming platforms have been found to disseminate pornography, violence, rumors and fraud, which run counter to socialist core values and adversely affect young people, a CAC official said.

Some platforms stream news live without proper qualifications, thus disturbing the orderly dissemination of information, the official added.

China now has more than 300 companies that provide online live streaming platforms, the official said, citing incomplete statistics.

Service providers should classify online live streams based on their content and number of users, and manage them accordingly, the regulation said.

It banned the use of live streams to undermine national security, destabilize society, disturb the social order, infringe upon others' legitimate rights and interests, and disseminate obscene content.

Using online live streaming services to make, replicate, release and disseminate information banned by laws and regulations is not allowed, it added.

It also stipulated that service providers should blacklist users who violate the regulation and other laws and regulations, and prohibit them from registering again.