China to Ban KTV Songs with ‘Illegal Content’

3 Minutes Read

• China to establish banned list of karaoke songs that ‘endanger national unity’ in further clampdown.
• The country's nearly 50,000 venues will be encouraged to provide ‘healthy’ songs rather than those threatening territorial integrity or religious policies.

Image: AFP via Getty Images

China will establish a blacklist of karaoke songs to ban those containing “illegal content” from karaoke venues across the country starting from 1 October, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The ministry said banned content would include that which endangers national unity, sovereignty or territorial integrity, violates state religious policies by propagating cults or superstitions, or which encourages illegal activities such as gambling and drugs.

Content providers to karaoke venues will be responsible for auditing the songs, the ministry said on its website on Tuesday, adding that China has nearly 50,000 entertainment outlets with a basic music library of more than 100,000 songs, making it difficult for venue operators to identify illegal tracks.

The ministry said it encouraged content providers to supply “healthy and uplifting” music to these venues.

China heavily regulates and scrubs content that includes violence, pornography, or politically sensitive commentary from social media and websites and has in recent months punished livestreaming to video platforms for hosting content it deems “low taste”.

Source: The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/11/china-to-ban-karaoke-songs-with-content-that-endangers-national-unity

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