Access to 26 podcast and music apps in China just got restricted after they disappeared from smartphone stores, local media report. As per the reports, the streaming apps were terminated by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).
Historical nihilism and pornography
The official communication by the government agency says that the action was taken against apps which spread pornography and historical nihilism. However, some apps were able to regain use among Chinese people after getting clearance from CAC.
For the apps which fall under the agency’s axe, they will cease to be available in the country. Some of them include the Chinese version of TikTok called Douyin, Soul and Kuaishou.
According to the cyber rules in the country, apps must receive a clean bill from the government to operate. This is to say that apps have to have content which is hosted by local partners and must remain unflagged by Chinese censors.
The clampdown has particularly been tough on podcasts which contain content which is political and which undermines the existing political order in any way. The reasoning behind the clampdown is that the podcasts might offer a platform for views which dissent the government’s position. Before the clampdown, the number of listeners for the podcasts had just crossed the 400 million mark.
No space for harmful music either
It is not only the podcast apps which are facing the axe in China. The government is coming down hard on music streaming apps like NetEase which have, for a long time, allowed Chinese listeners to get fresh and unorthodox sounds. For NetEase, users cannot access the app as a request for a download brings back the message that there is maintenance work going on.
This targeting of music apps is reminiscent of the government’s efforts to disappear songs which criticize the ruling order. For starters, one outspoken musician by the name Li Zhi has faced constant censorship because of the message in his songs. To be sure, the composer is said to be conveniently missing in action just when the people are gearing up for the celebration of 30 years since the Tiananmen Square incidence.
