China's WeChat bans nose-picking, spanking in bid to clean up livestreams

Chinese social media platform WeChat on Thursday published a list of activities and "violations" it is banning in a bid to clean up its livestreaming service, including "indecent" nose-picking and spanking games.

WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings (0700.HK), is ubiquitous in China, where it is used by around 1 billion people for everything from sending instant messages to ordering pizzas. Its popular "Channels" feature, launched in 2020, allows users to make and follow live broadcasts.

China closely regulates its internet and has been increasingly clamping down on content that is politically or socially sensitive.

In a post on the platform, WeChat's security centre described in detail more than 70 "common violations" that had been discovered during daily monitoring of the livestream service, and urged hosts to pay attention to the rules to avoid being punished.

Chinese social media platform WeChat on Thursday published a list of activities and "violations" it is banning in a bid to clean up its livestreaming service, including "indecent" nose-picking and spanking games.

WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings (0700.HK), is ubiquitous in China, where it is used by around 1 billion people for everything from sending instant messages to ordering pizzas. Its popular "Channels" feature, launched in 2020, allows users to make and follow live broadcasts.

China closely regulates its internet and has been increasingly clamping down on content that is politically or socially sensitive.

In a post on the platform, WeChat's security centre described in detail more than 70 "common violations" that had been discovered during daily monitoring of the livestream service, and urged hosts to pay attention to the rules to avoid being punished.