Now, online celebrity fan clubs are the latest to feel the heat.
The regime's top internet regulator, in a bid to rein in what it described as China's "Chaotic" celebrity fan culture, on Aug. 27 barred platforms from ranking celebrities' popularity and restricted sales of fan merchandise.
Restrictions are now slapped on celebrities' public relations firms, social media accounts of fan clubs, and entertainment programs, with the Cyberspace Administration of China on Friday highlighting around a dozen behaviors that it considered off-limits.
Fan clubs face a potential shutdown if they spread what the authorities deem as "Harmful information"-such as rumors, abusive words, and celebrity scandals, the Friday announcement said.
The measure on Friday was the culmination of a two-month-long campaign that has been gaining pace since June to "Rectify" celebrity fan culture, leading to the purging of 150,000 "Harmful messages" and over 5,000 accounts and groups it said were rule-breakers.
The regime's escalating crackdown on entertainers and fan culture has sent a chill through the country's "Idol economy", which is projected to be worth 140 billion yuan by estimates from Chinese streaming platform iQiyi.
The day the internet regulator took aim at celebrity worship, it also launched another crackdown on the country's freewheeling "Self-media" industry.
Monday, August 30, 2021
China's Celebrity Fan Culture in Hot Water as Beijing Widens Internet Crackdown
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