No ‘sexy’ women: China launches Lunar New Year internet crackdown to clear out content from ex-criminals, binge eaters and scantily clad influencers
- China has launched yet another moral clean-up of internet use to curtail the spread of ‘bad culture’
- Content targeted includes ex-criminals showing off their jail experiences and scantily clad women posing in ‘strange’ places including hotels
The crackdown, which will last until the end of February, aims to ‘curtail the spread of bad culture’.
China’s top cyberspace watchdog has launched a month-long internet clean-up campaign to sweep away “vulgar” and “unhealthy” tendencies ahead of the Lunar New Year which begins on January 22.
Content targeted includes the recent rise of ex-criminals posting material showing off their jail experience and scantily clad women posing in various locations such as hotels and farm fields, according to a directive issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China on January 18.
The crackdown, which will last until the end of February, aims to “curtail the spread of bad culture, protect the rights and benefits of online users, clean up the online ecology, and create a positive, civilized and healthy climate in public opinion,” said the powerful agency, which was established in 2014 to police the internet.
Women deemed too ‘sexy’ and posing in hotels are to be targeted as part of the new crackdown.
Local cyberspace censors were ordered to intensify check-ups on areas including homepages of key websites, trending topic search lists, recommendations, and user comments, to make sure they “have a good look” during the most important holiday festival in China.
Among a long list of undesirable phenomena, the regulator vowed to clean up was the controversial rise of ex-convicts posting about their experience in prison online.
Several celebrities who won sympathy by sharing their checkered pasts online have been met with outrage from official media in recent weeks and accused of “misleading” the public.
In one case, a live-streamer previously jailed for rape was selling sanitary pads on Douyin and gained more than 120,000 followers before his account was shut down by the platform earlier this week following public pressure.
Women appearing ‘sexy’ against backgrounds including scenic spots, farmland and snowscapes is considered indecent by Beijing.
The directive also pledged to clamp down on female celebrities who wore “revealing” clothes while posing in a variety of locations in photos and videos in an attempt to gain followers.
These people “created an indecent image” by appearing “sexy” against backgrounds including luxury hotels, scenic spots, farmland and snowscapes, it said.
Other “bad” behaviors targeted include the pursuit of money, wealth flaunting, and overeating and drinking, which have been condemned by the authorities in the past.
The latest ban follows a similar clean-up campaign last year when authorities targeted problematic material and activity in cyberspace.
The campaign follows a similar online “purification” exercise last year as Beijing continued its efforts to reshape the behavior of its more than 1 billion online users.
In 2021,
it started a sweeping crackdown on what it deemed problematic material and activity in cyberspace and the entertainment sector, leading to the downfall of a slew of celebrities.