Chinese mainstream entertainment apps,Watch Serve the People Online including WeChat, Douyin, and Kuaishou, have removed hundreds of short web dramas in the past week, citing content with inappropriate or negatively oriented values. These actions by platforms follow China’s broadcasting regulator’s announcement of tightened control over the short drama market’s popularity on Nov. 15, with measures ranging from accelerating the formulation of rules for content reviews in the industry to conducting a month-long campaign to combat violent content. Video apps have systematically refined their guidelines for short dramas on platforms to align with specific requirements since the broadcasting regulator issued the statement. For example, content that promotes “undesirable values” or “contains pornographic” is strictly prohibited from promotion.[People’s Daily, in Chinese]
