China bans video spoofs and parodies
China’s media regulator has cracked down on online video spoofs and parodies, The Verge reports, citing state-run media outlet Xinhua.
Video sites now must ban any videos that “distort, mock, or defame classical literary and art works,” the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television stated in a directive yesterday.
Reuters noted that the directive was marked “extra urgent,” which is uncommon and means that citizens must comply immediately or risk being shut down by authorities. The directive only applies to online videos, but since China largely has control of its film and television industries, one wouldn’t expect to see mocking parodies there to begin with.
The directive also said that videos must promote the “fine traditional Chinese culture” and its concepts of “love, emphasis on the people, integrity, justice, harmony, and no worshiping of money or other bad habits.”
Chinese regulators have ramped up censorship efforts, while parliament ruled to remove President Xi Jinping’s 10-year term limit recently, meaning that Xi can now rule indefinitely. Anything that could be remotely perceived as anti-government has been censored in the past few weeks, as locals’ frustration over Xi’s possible lifetime rule grows.