A man plays an online game on a computer at an internet cafe in Beijing, China August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Florence Lo

SHANGHAI, May 7 (Reuters) – China on Saturday ordered internet platforms to tighten governance of how under-18s use their live streaming services amid an ongoing regulatory crackdown on the sector in booming.

Platforms must tighten controls to prevent underage users from tipping live streamers or becoming live streamers themselves without guardian consent, the National Radio and Television Administration said in a statement. communicated.

They will also have to tighten peak hour management for these shows and the shows will have to be “forced” off at 10 p.m. local time for users of their “kids mode” parental controls features, he added.

The orders come after China launched a special two-month campaign last month to clean up ‘chaos’ in live-streaming and short online video businesses, as part of a wider plan to promote what is considered appropriate and legal content.

Some of the country’s most prominent live streaming platforms include ByteDance’s Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, Kuaishou (1024.HK), Alibaba-backed Bilibili (9626.HK), as well as Huya (HUYA.N) and Douyu, both of which are supported. by Tencent Holdings.

Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Stephen Coates and Michael Perry

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