- China’s Cyberspace Administration Announces New Measures to Regulate “Fandoms” or Online Celebrity Groups
- The rise of social networks and online groups has caused chaos in virtual life, where Internet users can see their integrity damaged
- With these measures, China seeks to create a clean and safe environment in cyberspace
The Chinese Cyberspace Administration, which is in charge of regulating the internet in the Asian country, announced a series of new measures to control the situation with fandoms or online groups of celebrities.
The arrival of social networks has enhanced the image of celebrities around the world. With a single click or a post, they are able to reach millions of users and cause real chaos on the network. We have seen it with K-pop groups that generate intense craziness among their followers.
This has been a complicated panorama for celebrities, because, although social networks represent a great channel of dissemination, they have also become a place where all kinds of comments and initiatives abound that jeopardize the very safety of both the famous as internet users.
In addition, there have been cases in various parts of the world where celebrities have been framed in situations of rape, harassment and even homicides and femicides.
Given this, and in the absence of an important regulation on who accesses these sites, the China Cyberspace Administration (CAC) has issued a series of measures to end the excessive furor that occurs in celebrity fandoms.
Said measures contemplate, among others, the non-publication of lists of celebrities, as well as forcing the companies that are behind said groups of fans to be certified groups.
On the other hand, one of the measures that is being worked on the most is to limit minors access to this series of groups, which is one of the biggest concerns in the regulation of social networks, since they are more exposed and they are more vulnerable to any harmful information leaking onto the internet.
In this sense, for the Chinese Cyberspace Administration, the most important thing is “to maintain a clean cyberspace, in which ‘online’ political security and ideological security are appealed.”
However, this series of measures arises in a context in which, in recent weeks, different media have been reported on cases related to celebrities committing rape actions on one of their fans.
The rise of social networks has led to a series of practices that, at this point, have remained in a general lack of control, practices that range from harassment, cyber bullying, to other more harmful, such as rape or in extreme cases homicide cases.
We saw it in Mexico, where some influencers have been involved in this type of controversy to the point of stepping on jail, where they still remain.
In the absence of a real and concrete regulation on what is allowed or not shared on social networks and fandoms, it is easier to publish personal data of users, which represents a latent danger for those who are exposed.
As long as we are working on the implementation of stronger measures, the situation will continue to spiral out of control and this type of situation also puts social networks and their image as a brand and as a space for companies in check.
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