China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television (SAPPRFT) today issued a notice (in Chinese) to local regulators, urging them to further reinforce scrutiny over inappropriate online entertainment content—in particular, those made from illegally-downloaded footage.
The authorities stated in the notice that all the online entertainment shows and clips must not distort or uglify classic arts or literary works, and must not be remade from original content. Also, online teasers and behind-the-scenes videos will be screened under stricter standards to make sure there’s no clip online related to shows or films that haven’t obtained permissions to distribute. No “uncut” versions could be shown online, according to the notice.
In addition, regulations regarding sponsorship for online entertainment content will be reinforced. No production companies or organizations should cooperate and receive sponsorship—be it title sponsorship or advertisements in other forms—from parties that haven’t obtained the right to distribute content online. Local regulators should take full charge of overseeing online entertainment content, says the notice.
It’s not the first time for China’s authorities to tighten scrutiny over online video content. Last month, SAPPRFT urged online video streaming platforms (in Chinese), such as Youku, iQIYI, Tencent, and Baidu, to intensively remove over 1,500 accounts that uploaded vulgar content or videos distorting classic communist work.In January, Beijing’s culture regulator also issued a notice that requires video streaming sites to self-censor all kid-targeted videos such as animations and cosplay dramas in a bid to wipe out inappropriate content.
–This article originally appeared on TechNode.
