Asian Tech Press (Aug 27)-- China has further strengthened the governance of "chaotic" fandom culture, with the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) issuing a notice Friday calling for eliminating all charts involving individual celebrities or groups, and strictly prohibiting any new or disguised individual charts and related products or features. Only music, film and TV works can be kept on the charts, but the names of celebrities and other personal logos are not allowed to appear.
China cracks down on "chaotic" celebrity fandom culture
The official website of CAC published a notice on further strengthening the management of the "chaotic" fandom culture, which requires platforms not to lure fans to spend money, promptly find and clean up all kinds of illegal information on fund-raising, and strictly control the participation of minors.
The ten measures the notice requires:
- Cancel celebrity ranking charts and strictly prohibit new or disguised individual charts and related products or features.
- Optimize and adjust ranking rules.
- Strictly control celebrity agencies.
- Standardize fan accounts. Unauthorized individuals or organizations are not allowed to register fan accounts.
- Strictly prohibit all kinds of harmful information and strictly deal with accounts that violate laws and regulations.
- Clean up fan communities, clubs and channels that violate regulations and laws.
- Do not induce fans to consume.
- Reinforce behavior management of variety shows. Prohibit functions that allow fans to spend money to vote.
- Strictly control the participation of minors and strictly prohibit them from spending on celebrities.
- Regulate the behavior of celebrity fund-raisings.
The notice also mentioned that platforms should improve their political awareness and enhance their sense of responsibility to maintain online cyberspace political and ideological security.
In response, Chinese mainstream social media platform Weibo responded by taking down its " celebrity trend list". The Chinese version of TikTok Douyin has also taken down its celebrity list. Video streaming platform iQiyi has canceled all idol talent programs and off-stage voting on its platforms for the next few years.
Strengthens the governance of celebrity crimes
The Chinese government further strengthens the governance of celebrity crimes. State broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday that celebrities' moral corruption and illegal behavior and the 'chaotic' fandom culture have been causing widespread concern in society for some time. A clean and honest literary environment should be restored.
The Chinese showbiz industry is not peaceful these days. Beijing Chaoyang Public Security Bureau has criminally detained top celebrity Kris Wu for allegedly committing rape. On Thursday evening, famous Chinese actress Zhao Wei, also known as Vicky Zhao, was suddenly banned from the Internet. Meanwhile, actress Zheng Shuang was fined $46.1 million for tax evasion.
Actress Zhao Wei banned, reason unknown
Zhao's name was suddenly removed from the credits of major TV series, and many of her works were pulled down. Her name can no longer be found on many mainstream video platforms. Her major works, such as My Fair Princess (1998), Romance in the Rain (2001) and Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012), have been taken down.
The reason for her ban is still unclear. However, Zhao has encountered several scandals in recent years as she has ventured into the business world.
She was administratively punished for breach of trust in the securities and futures market by the China Securities Regulatory Commission in 2018. Earlier this year, Zhao and her husband were banned from trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange due to a failed 2016 takeover bid that authorities ruled had disrupted market order.
Actress Zheng Shuang fined $46 million for tax evasion
Chinese actress Zheng Shuang, previously banned due to the surrogacy controversy, was accused of alleged tax fraud and evasion by her ex-boyfriend Zhang Heng in April.
On August 27, the State Taxation Administration informed that the Shanghai Municipal Taxation Bureau conducted an in-depth inspection in accordance with the law based on the reports of actress Zheng Shuang's alleged tax evasion.
The Bureau recently found that Zheng had failed to declare her personal income of 191 million yuan ($29.452 million), evaded 45.266 million yuan in taxes and underpaid 26.520,700 yuan in other taxes between 2019 and 2020. The authority decided to impose a penalty of tax recovery, an additional late payment fee, and a fine of 299 million yuan ($46.1 million) under the law.
Social media giant's concerns
Celebrity news and fan-generated rankings charts have brought huge traffic and revenue to online platforms such as Weibo, which may be affected in some ways as the authorities continue to regulate "chaotic" fan culture.
According to Sina Weibo's Q2 2021 financial results, its net revenue reached $570 million, up 48% year-over-year. Net profit was $81 million, down 59% year-over-year, showing revenue growth without profit growth.
In addition, the financial results showed that operating costs for the second quarter were $381 million, up 36% year-over-year. Among them, marketing costs were $154 million, accounting for 27% of total revenue.
According to Choice data, as of August 25, Weibo's share price fell by a cumulative 10.07% in the past month.
