In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been cracking down on online speech and live streaming. On May 31, the news of a popular internet celebrity with 9 million followers being banned from speaking sparked public attention. Some media outlets claimed that this action was due to the influencer criticizing a well-known host and causing trouble.
The TikTok account of the internet celebrity, known as Big Blue, was banned from engaging on May 31. Previously, Big Blue’s account had its live streaming function suspended for 30 days.
As for the reason for the ban, according to the mainland media “Three Words Technology,” Big Blue recently criticized the famous host Tu Lei, believing that Tu Lei’s previous remarks promoted negative values.
For example, Tu Lei’s statements like “Home is a place to speak of love, not reason,” and “A man who spends money on you may not love you, but a man who does not spend money on you definitely does not love you” were deemed inappropriate by Big Blue. He called for Tu Lei to apologize for these statements on social media.
It is reported that Big Blue’s comments violated the community management norms advocated by social media platforms, resulting in a temporary ban on speaking.
Regarding this issue, netizens have been discussing:
“Getting banned for criticizing Tu Lei? Seems unlikely.”
“Setting aside the real reason for his ban, the two statements by Tu Lei mentioned in the article are not problematic.”
“Didn’t Big Blue already surrender to Tu Lei? After the live streaming ban, he surrendered, and now unexpectedly he’s been banned from speaking.”
“It feels inexplicable, what is the real reason for the ban from speaking?”
“I heard his live streaming account was reported and taken down.”
Big Blue, whose real name is Lan Tianhang, is a self-media creator whose content often revolves around finance. Currently, he has over 10 million fans across various platforms, with 9.51 million fans on TikTok.
In recent years, the CCP has been actively regulating online live streaming.
Last December, numerous financial bloggers in mainland China were silenced by the CCP, which cited national security reasons and warned scholars and the public against speaking negatively about the Chinese economy.
On January 3, TikTok implemented a comprehensive “Health Score” system, penalizing around 5,000 livestream hosts.
On May 15, several Chinese social media platforms such as Tencent, TikTok, Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Kuaishou, and Bilibili simultaneously issued announcements, strictly prohibiting users from spreading content that promotes excessive indulgence and unrealistic wealth aspirations.
The CCP’s censorship authorities have recently blocked multiple internet celebrities’ live streaming accounts.
This includes “King Red Power Star,” known for videos featuring luxury fashion, first-class cabins, and jade jewelry collections. Their TikTok account with over 4 million followers was shut down.
The videos filmed by the internet celebrity “Tuna Sister,” who often wears diamond and pearl necklaces and owns a mansion, were also blocked on Bilibili. The TikTok page with over 2 million fans was banned.
The internet celebrity “Baigongzi,” who has filmed trying out Rolls-Royce cars and purchasing rare Hermes Birkin bags, was also suppressed. Their TikTok account with nearly 3 million followers disappeared from the platform on Tuesday.
YouTube channel host Wang Jian believes that the CCP’s crackdown on self-media is aimed at controlling public opinion. “This is a very important principle in their whole brainwashing campaign, where all citizens can only hear one voice, one logic, one reality.”
Some analysis suggests that as China’s economy declines and the unemployment rate rises, many people are transitioning from wealth to poverty. Displaying wealth online can exacerbate the rich-poor divide, and the CCP’s stringent measures aim to prevent this social resentment from turning against the authorities.