China: Consultation opened on Regulations on Online Performances including content moderation requirements

On 23 September 2022, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism opened a public consultation on the Regulations on Online Performances, which aim to promote the "healthy and orderly development" of performances distributed on online platforms. In particular, the Regulations state that providers of online performance dramas must ensure that the content they are streaming does not contain content classified as prohibited in the "Interim Provisions on the Administration of Internet Culture". Furthermore, the providers will be required to have content management departments that would review the content of the online performances and monitor in real-time the user-generated content, including comments and bullet screens. Finally, the platforms broadcasting the online performances will be required to delay the live broadcast to review and block the content classified as prohibited. The stakeholders are invited to submit their comments by 10 October 2022.