Sanya City in south China's Hainan Province, a maritime city popular among Chinese and international tourists for its tropical scenery and beautiful beaches, recently issued several regulations and punishments targeting live streamers' inappropriate and invasive behaviors at its Dadong Sea scenic spot.
Sanya City at its peak season, January 24, 2015.
Behaviors in question include harassing other tourists, teasing tourists with vulgar language, disturbing physical contacts and photographing tourists without consent.
Sanya is among one of the most popular destinations for live streamers in China. A significant number travel to the Dadong Sea scenic spot to record livestreams of themselves tasting local seafood, taking yachts on the sea or traversing the beach.
Those who choose to stay by the beach would perform live singing or dancing, or interact with strangers.
A guy is broadcasting at Dadong Sea Beach in south China's Sanya City on April 6, 2019.
The increase in live streaming has helped Sanya attract more tourists, but complaints have also increased.
In August and September 2019, the management company of Dadong Sea tourist area received at least one to two complaints every day aimed at the camera-toting live streamers, according to an official from the company. "On some days, you'd see a live streamer every ten steps of walking on the beach," he told Southern Metropolis Daily.
According to a report from Beijing Youth Daily, most of the tourists approached by the live streamers are young attractive females. Even after expressing their displeasure at being filmed, live streamers continue with their filming most times, ignoring their requests.
"Waves, beaches and beautiful girls" is a winning formula for a popular livestream, as told by an industry practitioner. These live streamers would aggressively approach girls, trying to get them on stream to attract more viewers. They'd also sometimes show these girls viewers' comments about them in the live chat channel, making the situation even more irritating and uncomfortable.
Noise disturbance is another cause of complaints. Many tourists headed to the beach for a time of relaxation are often greeted by live streamers shouting into a microphone.
Residents who live in the area are also affected. Some of them told Beijing Youth Daily that they were not against live streaming, but against live streamers causing troubles for those who have no interest in becoming a viewer.
Live streaming and vlogging are major trends in China. According to a research on the Chinese online streaming industry conducted by iiMedia Research, a data mining and analysis organization in China, there were 456 million live streaming users in China in 2018, which was almost a third of the entire Chinese population. The number was also projected to go up in 2019 and 2020.
Chinese vlogger Li Ziqi gains fame both in China and abroad through her vlogs showing traditional Chinese cultural elements and lifestyle. / Gif via Li Ziqi's vlog
As live streaming became mainstream, it has helped boost China's economy and has given talented individuals a platform to express themselves and earn a living. However, problems also surfaced due to lack of regulation.
In the past, vulgar and fraudulent content caught on streams have caused unrest in the online community, and the industry has introduced regulations and guidelines.
In April 2017, the Cyberspace Administration of China shut down 18 online streaming services for broadcasting illegal contents.
Douyu TV, one of China's top online streaming platforms, issued a "self-discipline convention" in which it set 13 standards for its streamers' on-stream behaviors. It also employed a demerit point system similar to the one used to regulate drivers in China.
Streaming services in other parts of the world have also acted to fight against behaviors that can negatively impact its viewers. Twitch, a leading streaming service primarily focuses on video gaming and esports broadcasting, clearly stated harassment as prohibited behavior in its community guideline. Live streamers can have their accounts indefinitely suspended on the first violation.
Zhu Wei, deputy director of China University of Political Science and Law's research center for Communication Law, told China National Radio that live broadcasting others without consent is an infringement of one's privacy and right of portrait. Those who are filmed have the right to require the broadcasters to immediately delete the footage or end the stream.