The censorship rules, despite being articulated each year, can be unclear and have led to crackdowns on unexpected content, such as "exaggerated praise" of former officials. The watchdog has also been deleting videos of disgruntled homebuyers and censoring economists' predictions about the property market. In the second quarter of this year alone, the Cyberspace Administration closed over 4,000 websites and removed 55 apps.
Key takeaways:
- The Cyberspace Administration of China has announced a new crackdown on various content deemed unacceptable, including videos created with artificial intelligence and content promoting “pessimism.”
- The new focus of censorship will target anyone “promoting pessimism and extremism,” having the “wrong career values,” or what’s deemed “money worship,” among other offenses.
- The censorship body will also place renewed focus on the Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, for special scrutiny, due to the rise of new tools that allow anyone to easily create convincing and life-like videos.
- The Cyberspace Administration closed over 4,000 websites and removed 55 apps in the second quarter of this year alone, according to a report from the South China Morning Post.