Beijing is intensifying scrutiny over the country’s internet giants as they deepen forays into content and user contingents grow into the hundreds of millions. Livestreaming, in particular, has burgeoned in past years as platforms from Bilibili to DouYu become vibrant social media forums that penetrate well beyond cities and into the countryside, enabling an explosion of communications that’s proven increasingly difficult to monitor. That, in turn, has fostered a growing cohort of online influencers with followings in the millions.
It’s unclear what the content suspensions encompass. Both Huya and DouYu, which divide content into channels like games or entertainment, posted in the main recommendation section of their apps that they have “suspended updates” since Tuesday, without elaborating. Representatives for Baidu, Bilibili, ByteDance, Huya, NetEase and DouYu didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The migration of viewership online during the pandemic has only accelerated the phenomenon. China’s top state broadcaster recently criticized Huya for hosting gaming ads in a channel offering free online courses for homebound students. In response, the company shut its learning page and offered refunds to minors who spent their parents’ money on games, the app said in a statement.
In April, Chinese regulators suspended key channels in Baidu’s flagship mobile app, citing vulgar content. That two-week punishment could reduce revenue from its core search and feed business in the June quarter by close to 2%, according to an estimate by Jefferies analyst Thomas Chong.
