A clearer view of what matters

As AI short-form dramas that can be produced in a very short time continue to multiply, Chinese authorities are moving to tighten content oversight. The crackdown will cover not only sexually suggestive or low-quality productions, but also cases where someone else’s face or voice is used without permission. The idea is to protect content quality and rights at the same time, as production speeds continue to rise.

According to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency, the National Radio and Television Administration, which oversees broadcasting and online content, will carry out a special enforcement campaign through December 31. The main targets include harmful content involving children, scenes that provoke sexualization, material that stokes extreme confrontation or promotes materialism, and works that seriously undermine family ethics.

The use of another person’s face or voice through AI without authorization is also among the behaviors being targeted. Works that have not gone through registration and review under the relevant rules, as well as those that include low-quality content in titles or promotional videos, are also included. The authorities have also called for improvements to platform practices that repeatedly distribute the same work under only a different title or protagonist name, and that heavily recommend similar content on the home page or in popular rankings.

The scale of the crackdown is already substantial. The National Radio and Television Administration said it has removed 75,000 short-form dramas from online platforms this year for violating regulations and penalized more than 1,500 related accounts. In 자료 released by the authorities in September, the number of short-form dramas launched in China from January to August this year was put at 430,000. That is 13 times the total number released last year, and more than 90% of them were AI-generated works.

Short-form dramas are a format that tells a story through a series of brief video episodes. As production and distribution become more active, audiences can access a wider range of works, but problems such as the unauthorized use of another person’s face or voice, or repeated exposure to similar content, can also grow. This is a general explanation of the technological backdrop, while the specific targets and measures in this crackdown are based on what Chinese authorities have announced.

What stands out about this move is that it goes beyond removing individual works and aims to reshape how platforms manage and recommend content as well. Alongside enforcement, Chinese authorities say they will support the production of high-quality works in an effort to guide the industry toward stronger growth. As the short-form drama market expands, how to manage not only production convenience but also the rights of creative works and responsibility for distribution is emerging as an important challenge.