China cracks down on celebrity fan culture after scandals
SHANGHAI: China is cracking down on what it described as a “chaotic” celebrity fan culture on Friday, barring platforms from publishing popularity lists and regulating the sale of fan merchandise after a series of controversies involving artistes.
Regulators need to “increase their sense of responsibility, mission and urgency to maintain online political and ideological security,” the Cyberspace Administration of China said.
China has stringent rules on content ranging from video games to movies to music, and censors anything it believes violates core socialist values.
Online celebrity fan clubs have become a widespread phenomenon in China with local newspaper The Paper projecting the country’s “idol economy” could be worth 140 billion yuan ($21.59bn) by 2022.
When Canadian-Chinese pop star Kris Wu was detained by Beijing police last month on suspicion of sexual assault, his fan groups came to his defence on social media. Most of these fan accounts, along with Wu’s online accounts, were later shut down.
China’s Netflix equivalent, iQiyi, also drew fire earlier this year after fans of one of its talent shows were filmed wasting milk in their bid to qualify to vote. On Thursday, iQiyi said it would no longer broadcast idol competition shows.
In January, actor Zheng Shuang became engulfed in a surrogacy controversy and she was later probed by tax authorities. On Friday, Shanghai tax authorities said they had decided to fine her 299 million yuan ($46.15mn) for tax evasion.
Separately, Chinese video platforms on Friday took down films starred or directed by Zhao Wei, one of China’s biggest stars, citing “relevant laws and regulations” that prompted widespread online speculation over the same reason.