Stray Links: China Reprimands at Every Turn

[shishir.seoexpert1]

TO REMEMBER THIS WEEK:

China Regulates More and More – The Chinese government is tightening its grip on the media a little more each week. Two new laws for regulating the Internet were announced this week : Xi Jinping intends to better control the tech sector by regulating data security and the protection of personal information. But the ambition for control goes well beyond the Internet and its platforms: the entertainment sector is also targeted .

After designating video games as a “spiritual opium ” from which gambling data switzerland China had to protect its youngest, the government has finally decided to limit the time spent by under-18s on online video games to three hours per week . Companies in the gaming and tech sector, such as Tencent , have already suffered several waves of severe regulations and are now facing a flight of investors . This limitation also risks strongly impacting Chinese studios at a time when they are booming, particularly with the international success of Genshin Impact . Indeed, the tricks developed by young Chinese people to continue playing could push them towards a more international market , ultimately diverting them from Chinese licenses.

The video game industry is not the only one that will have to follow new guidelines. China's Ministry of Culture has also banned a list of songs with "illegal content" from karaoke bars . Chinese television and radio stations have more recently been pushed to avoid depictions of men it deems "not virile enough ." They will therefore have to avoid promoting stars deemed too effeminate, as well as the wealth and fame of "vulgar internet stars ." Many reality TV shows and talent contests will be banned from national television. The aim is to combat an 'idol culture' that "pollutes" Chinese society and youth.



Facebook is getting less political – Facebook has just decided to make its news feed less polarizing, and thus reduce the share of politically-related articles in its news feed . This decision implies that the company tacitly acknowledges that the posts that generate the most engagement are not significant in terms of what people want to see on its network. This decision comes months after the company banned politically-oriented ads after Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol . But it is not yet clear whether this intervention will prevent the spread of misinformation, which generates 6 times more likes than proven information on Facebook. At the same time, Texas is preparing a law that would aim to prevent Facebook from censoring posts by conservative elected officials .