On Saturday, the Chinese government announced a number of changes to the way kids can access and interact with content online. The National Radio and Television Administration said “platforms need to step up controls to stop underage users from tipping livestreamers or becoming livestreamers themselves without guardian consent.”
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As Reuters reports, this comes in the form of two policy changes:
1) Viewers under the age of 18 will no longer be able to “tip,” a practice where those watching a broadcast are able to send small amounts of money, usually in exchange for a spoken or text acknowledgement of their contribution.
2) Anyone watching livestreamed content via a kid’s account will have all streams locked out after 10pm, and those responsible for creating content will “need to strengthen the management of peak hours for such shows.”
Note that none of this is taking place on Twitch or YouTube; instead, China’s biggest platforms are all local services like Bilibili, Tencent’s Huya & Douyu, and Douyin, which is basically the Chinese version of TikTok.
These new laws come as part of an effort by Chinese authorities to target what it deems is “chaos” in the social media and livestreaming space, which is being led by both the carrot (a promotion of “appropriate and legal content”) and the stick (restrictions like these).
