Foreigners Suspended From Live-Streaming Apps

By Noelle Mateer

Foreigners have been suspended from popular live-streaming apps due to new government regulations.

New rules say that streamers from outside the Mainland must apply to the Ministry of Culture before starting their own live-streaming channel. As such, laowai on platforms including Yizibo (otherwise known as YY, Weibo’s live-streaming service) and Blued have been suddenly suspended, according to Sixth Tone.

Chinese live-streaming apps have gained massive popularity over the past couple years. As of last summer, the top three among them accounted for hundreds of millions of users, and the number has only grown since. 

Live-streaming is major business in China, where would-be stars stream everything from beauty tutorials to KTV sessions as thousands across the country tune in and comment in real time. The phenomenon has even created a new breed of star who uses her channel to promote products, or simply accept monetary gifts from eager fans (the vast majority of successful stars are pretty women; the vast majority of viewers are bored, lonely men).

But if 2016 saw live-streaming’s unregulated, Wild West-like boom, then 2017 just might see its slow-down. Increased regulation of the apps’ content began last year with the banning of suggestively eating bananas on camera (we’re not joking), followed by a major crackdown onlive-streamed pornography.

These new regulations, released in January, are the government’s latest attempt to control streaming content, dictating that streams must “be beneficial to the promotion of socialist core values.”

Apps have responded to the rules in different ways. Some have halted foreigners’ accounts altogether, while others have allowed their laowai to continue.

Let’s have a moment of silence for what is lost and savor this screenshot of foreign That’s Beijing editors playing with YY:

Don’t worry, laowai – Facebook Live is still here for you. 

To see our story on China's live-streaming stars, click "Read more" below.