ByteDance's Douyin steps up oversight of live-streaming hosts, closing 290,000 accounts last year for 'harmful' content

Douyin, the sibling app of ByteDance's global short video hit TikTok, said it imposed additional oversight on live-streaming hosts and their activities during 2023 to rein in inappropriate practices.

The live-streaming crackdown conducted throughout 2023 shut down more than 290,000 host accounts, including some top influencers, as the platform sought to weed out practices it deemed harmful, such as outdoor live-streaming containing vulgar content, improper challenge games among hosts, as well as enticing viewers to spend more money, the company said in a post published to its official WeChat account on Tuesday.

Some outdoor live-streaming and challenge games led to problems such as vulgar language and harassment of passers-by by hosts during their live sessions, according to the post.

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In a joint effort with local authorities in Changsha, the capital of central Hunan province, Douyin removed the accounts of more than 10,000 hosts since August last year.

The banned hosts had engaged in "harmful" outdoor live-streaming activities in Changsha, a major tourist spot which attracted live-streamers who wanted to broadcast its bustling nightlife.

Chinese regulators have increasingly tightened their leash on the live-streaming sector, which was forecast to have made 700 billion yuan (US$98.2 billion) in 2023, according to Statista.

Improper challenge games and enticed spending were also issues raised by the Cyberspace Administration of China over the past two years, as part of the top Chinese internet watchdog's campaigns to root out malicious online content.

Douyin's live-streaming clampdown also targeted live streamers who were promoting scams, gambling and pornographic content on the platform. Nearly two-thirds, or 190,000, of the hosts banned last year were involved in such activities.

Through efforts with the Chinese police, more than 300 criminal suspects have been arrested, Douyin said.

However, the crackdown is taking a toll on some hosts, who said they were incidentally banned as part of the measures. One host, based in the central province of Anhui, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution by the platform, told the South China Morning Post on Thursday that while she agreed with Douyin's efforts, it was easy for some veteran hosts to get caught up, adding that losing access to accounts that took years to build up is a high cost.

Douyin did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

The platform has also been improving the way it manages live streamers. Last September, it introduced a revamped host rating system to take into account multiple factors such as the severity of the alleged malpractice, and the hosts' level of influence and popularity.

Meanwhile, verified hosts generating "good" content would be rewarded with support from Douyin to create a "healthy and positive" environment for live-streaming activities.

The rising trend of using artificial intelligence (AI)-powered virtual hosts has also caught Douyin's attention. The short video app has put in place rules to require more transparency, with additional identity checks required for the individuals behind such virtual hosts.

In a joint effort with local authorities in the city of Changsha (pictured), Douyin removed the accounts of more than 10,000 hosts since August last year. Photo: Shutterstock Images alt=In a joint effort with local authorities in the city of Changsha (pictured), Douyin removed the accounts of more than 10,000 hosts since August last year. Photo: Shutterstock Images>

More than 765 million Chinese internet users had tuned into live sessions across various online services as of last June, according to data from the China Internet Network Information Centre, representing around 70 per cent of the country's total 1.079 billion netizens.

The widespread adoption of live-streaming services has included people of all ages, including minors and seniors, two groups which Douyin said it was paying special attention to.

Douyin has introduced restrictions that prevent minors from hosting live sessions or tipping other hosts. It also has safeguards that intervene when its system determines an elderly user is falling prey to online scams on its app.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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