From skimpy outfits to staged “wet body” stunts and exaggerated moaning, China’s booming group-livestream scene is facing tighter scrutiny as regulators move to outlaw sexually suggestive tactics used to push viewers to tip.

Issuing new rules on Wednesday, the Cyberspace Administration of China said group livestreamers are now barred from using “vulgar content that entices tipping,” “vulgar punishments that induce tips,” and “vulgar voting and tipping games.” The regulator also cited nine accounts removed under the new rules, part of a broader effort this year on tipping and other monetization tactics.

Group livestreaming, or tuanbo, has surged across Chinese short video platforms this year. Official data show that an average of 8,000 tuanbo rooms go live each day, up more than 20% from 2024, with revenue expected to exceed 15 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) this year.

Group livestreaming content often includes scripted interactions such as “PK battles,” where performers dance or compete to generate viewer rankings and virtual gifts. 

Despite earlier platform-level restrictions — including the July ban of Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, on revealing outfits and excessive beauty filters, and an October campaign against livestream tipping, sexually explicit behaviors remained rampant. 

The CAC’s new rules specifically outlaw “vulgar punishments,” such as performers slapping their feet or buttocks or giving each other electric shocks to spur viewer donations. The top regulator also banned “gift-ranking selection games,” where viewers compete against each other to see who can tip the most, often through tactics such as displaying donation tallies or offering close-ups of performers’ bodies.

Violators face penalties including reduced traffic, stream suspensions, revenue deductions, and permanent bans. Douyin said in September that it had penalized more than 1,200 tuanbo accounts for vulgar content and removed 12 associated agencies over the past year. 

Zheng Ning, director of the Department of Law at the Communication University of China in Beijing, told domestic media that some multi-channel network (MCN) agencies, driven by profit, deliberately scripted sexual content and manipulated traffic.

As part of efforts to reshape the sector, the China Association of Performing Arts and Douyin jointly launched the “Quality Tuanbo Initiative,” aiming to cultivate more than 100 “high quality” livestreaming groups by the end of 2025.

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: From Weibo)