The short-video platform’s stated goal of promoting “a civilized lifestyle” aligns with an ongoing government campaign to make China’s cyberspace more positive and wholesome.
If you live in China, flexing with a fat wad of cash can get you banned on TikTok.
In a notice Friday, Douyin — as the enormously popular short-video app is branded in China — said six kinds of content including “flaunting wealth” are now banned on the platform because they promote “unhealthy values.”
The content prohibitions follow the introduction of livestreaming regulations that highlighted wealth-flaunting as an issue last year, as well as the government’s recent call to spread more “positive energy” online.
The six similar categories identified by Douyin also include promoting money-worship, using minors in videos related to luxury products, and “showing off one’s social status in an inappropriate way,” which includes “making fun of the poor.”
Fabricating narratives — ascending from rags to riches or having just returned from studying abroad, for example — in order to market products or scam users makes up another banned category.
To help get the message across, the notice includes descriptions of disallowed content that resulted in account deletions, such as depictions of large amounts of cash being thrown into the air.
The purported aim of the ban is to promote “rational spending” and “a civilized lifestyle,” as well as build a healthier community on Douyin, according to the notice. A spokesperson for the platform told media that flaunting wealth “pollutes the social atmosphere (on Douyin) and is particularly harmful for the mental and physical well-being of minors.”
– This article originally appeared on Sixth Tone.
