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 From Jan. 1, companies offering online music should police content
before making it available, the Ministry of Culture said on its
website. China's three biggest Internet companies, Alibaba Group
Holding Ltd, Tencent Holdings Ltd and Baidu Inc all have music
streaming platforms.
This edict is the latest strike in a multi-year campaign to
"cleanse" both the Internet and culture more broadly of material the
ruling Communist Party might deem a threat to China's stability. The
country already operates what experts say is one of the world's most
sophisticated online censorship mechanisms.
Baidu declined to comment. Alibaba and Tencent were not available
for immediate comment.
The self-censorship system for music mirrors those currently in
place at Internet companies, which employ large teams to scour the
firms' websites and apps and eradicate sensitive material.
Academics and censorship experts say the self-policing, with
punitive measures for failure to remove "harmful" content,
encourages companies and individuals to be conservative and censor
more than may be necessary, in order to avoid punishment.
Despite the crackdown, music industry professionals say that China
is becoming an increasingly important market, especially as music
streaming gains popularity and a growing middle-class pays for
high-quality services.
The government has been trying to shake off the country's image as a
market notorious for rampant music and entertainment piracy, issuing
new regulations and punishments for offenders.
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The ministry also asked online music platforms to submit information
about their music to government officials from April 1.
In August, the ministry banned a list of 120 songs from being
distributed online because they were "morally harmful".
A large chunk of the songs were made by a handful of hip-hop
artists, mirroring Western countries' moral panic over rap in the
1990s and early 2000s.
(Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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