China will require influencers to have studios if they want to talk about 'complex topics

 

China does not want improvised: if an influencer wants to talk about health, for example, he will have to have a university degree in medicine.

In the midst of strong misinformation on the networks, China has ordered that all influencers and streamers on its social networks have studies that show they have knowledge about what they will talk about in their broadcasts.

According to CNCB, it is a fair measure, but at the same time it adds to the list of restrictions that the government has been adding to social networks, even bordering on censorship.

Speak with “fundamentals”

According to this new measure, social media streamers from Tencent or Alibaba will have to certify studies that prove their knowledge of complex topics. Influencers often use such platforms to sell products and can rack up billions of dollars in sales in a matter of hours.

Subjects that will require a “professional level” include medicine and law.

Content creators will need to attach their transcripts to the live streaming platform they use. Those qualifications must then be reviewed by the platform.

Censorship?

In the past 16 months, China has enacted new regulations in different areas of the tech sector in a bid to rein in the power of its once-independent tech giants. There has also been a push for more control over areas Beijing sees as influencing society, including video games, live streaming and celebrity culture.

Last month, Chinese regulators banned children under the age of 16 from watching live streaming content after 10 p.m. m. and buy virtual gifts for influencers.

The latest rules from the two Chinese government agencies establish a "code of conduct" for online influencers.

Live streamers may not post content that weakens or distorts the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, for example. China has a strict censorship system which means that content that Beijing does not like will be removed from the internet.

Influencers are also not allowed to use so-called deep fake technology to manipulate party or state leaders. This technology uses artificial intelligence to distort faces and could be used to insert the face of a politician or leader into a video they weren't in.

Live streamers also may not display excessive food waste, many luxury items, or an extravagant lifestyle, and content must not be sexually suggestive or provocative.