Some Internet celebrities fabricate facts and make wild remarks to disrupt the ecological order of the Internet. Experts recommend
Internet celebrities’ comments cross the border
Should be included in the list of bad deeds for supervision
Our reporter Wen Lijuan
□ Wang Yitao, an intern of this newspaper
“The deceased was buried alive”, “There were adult accomplices in the case”, “The skull and face were completely shattered”... Recently, after the murder of a junior high school student in Handan, Hebei Province, some online bloggers and even Internet celebrity bloggers with a large number of followers published the above untrue facts. They even went to the local area where the crime occurred to live stream it to gain traffic. Currently, these bloggers have been banned and cannot be found on the platform.
Similar phenomena are not uncommon. With the rapid popularity of online platforms, some people pursue "traffic first", while others have no scruples in the virtual space, fabricating facts, making arrogant remarks, making extreme or even illegal remarks, challenging public order and good customs, disrupting network order, and polluting The network ecology has a bad impact.
Experts interviewed pointed out that with the expansion of influence, the comments of Internet celebrity bloggers can not only attract attention, but also become an important force in guiding public opinion. On online social platforms, bloggers can express their opinions freely, but this freedom is not without boundaries. They cannot publish information that violates laws and regulations, such as involving national security, spreading rumors, infringing on the reputation rights of others, etc. Regulatory authorities, platforms and society should increase supervision of Internet celebrity bloggers and strengthen correct guidance while ensuring freedom of speech.
Lost the bottom line for traffic
Internet celebrities frequently make outrageous comments
"The earthquake in Gansu is 800 kilometers away from me. Does it have anything to do with me?" "I also found two (self-reported pornographic experiences), 1,800 yuan"... Since last year, the remarks made by many Internet celebrity bloggers have triggered widespread social concern. dispute.
Reporters have noticed that as the live broadcast industry becomes increasingly prosperous, many people have gained a lot of attention and influence through Internet platforms. They use short videos, live broadcasts and other forms to share their lives, spread opinions, and entertain the public. Among them, some Internet celebrities have started a "traffic business" and even lost their bottom line for traffic. They make up random things, seek ugliness and curiosity, promote vulgar and vulgar content, or ignore laws and regulations, constantly brush the edges or even openly provoke.
"Iron Head" is one of them. In March 2023, he began to make anti-counterfeiting videos, exposing chaos in the Sanya seafood market and elderly health products, which attracted widespread attention from netizens. One of its platform accounts has more than 5 million fans.
According to a post posted by a netizen, "Tietou" exposed his pornography experience during a live broadcast and threatened that "what happened eight years ago has passed the prosecution period." Many netizens left messages on the official government account to complain. Afterwards, the accounts of "Tietou Punishes Evil and Promotes Good" on multiple platforms were shown to be banned.
This is not the first time that "Iron Head" has been caught in the whirlpool of public opinion. Previously, he also publicly joked about serious topics such as "Wenchuan Earthquake" and "Female Domestic Violence" in the live broadcast room.
Not long ago, the police in Yulin, Shaanxi Province handled a case of provocation and trouble caused by an Internet celebrity. Zhang Meili (screen name, account has been closed), an online anchor in Suide, Shaanxi Province, quickly became popular on the Internet because he insulted his mother during the live broadcast. Later, he pretended to be crazy and stupid during the live broadcast, using the Internet to create topics to abuse and insult others at will.
There are also many online anchors who hired Zhang Meili to live broadcast, maliciously teased Zhang Meili and cursed people, and co-produced vulgar and indecent videos with Zhang Meili in order to increase their followers and sell goods and make money. While Zhang Meili was arrested by the police on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, five people involved in hiring Zhang Meili to conduct vulgar live broadcasts were also administratively punished in accordance with the law.
What’s the reason why some internet celebrities frequently say things like “they’ll never stop saying anything that’s shocking”?
Many interviewed experts pointed out that the culprit behind this is the "traffic-only theory". Under the pressure of traffic, resources and industry "involution", some Internet celebrities resort to sensationalism, swearing, dirty jokes, and even sidestepping and breaking the law. Behavior attracts attention and traffic.
In the "Tietou" incident, some netizens noticed that he said something like this in the live broadcast room: "If you want to hear it, please give it 200,000 likes...". Industry insiders analyzed that he used prostitution as a gimmick to challenge ordinary people's perceptions to attract and encourage netizens to generate traffic. Regardless of whether the story of prostitution is true or false, public ridicule violates social order and good customs, violates the regulations of the industry management system, and even challenges the legal red line.
Wang Hong, a lawyer at Yunnan Hengzhi Law Firm, believes that there are huge profit drivers behind internet celebrities, which is understandable. However, the huge fan base allows wider dissemination channels for their speech and behavior. If you post something irresponsible without thinking, Remarks or misleading information often trigger a series of chain reactions that have a negative impact on society.
Ms. Wang from Hunan has some opinions on the vulgar comments made by Internet celebrities. As a mother of two children, she is particularly disgusted with some Internet celebrities who use swear words on the Internet during live broadcasts, and sometimes make dirty jokes. "Children can easily imitate these words after seeing them. Not only is it easy to delay their studies and affect their physical and mental health, but also It has a negative impact on the establishment of children's three views, and we hope that relevant departments can strengthen the supervision of Internet celebrities' speeches."
Ms. Zhou from Guangdong also complained that her 10-year-old son always clamored to become an Internet celebrity in the future. When she asked her son why, his son said that "being an Internet celebrity is easy and makes a lot of money" and "I want to say Just say whatever you want, and do whatever you want.”
Clarify platform rights and obligations
Establish unified banning standards
In reality, some internet celebrity bloggers rely on hype to gain popularity, and even the more scandalous material there is, the more popular their live broadcast rooms become. There are also some internet celebrities with bad deeds who have been banned and changed their accounts to come back to the world. They make money by buying gifts from fans and continue to do so. "Traffic business" makes a lot of money.
After the hustle and bustle, people can’t help but reflect: Should online live broadcast platforms continue to provide exposure opportunities for Internet celebrities with bad deeds? Has the platform fulfilled its due responsibilities and obligations in terms of supervision?
Many interviewed experts pointed out that Internet celebrities with many fans meet the criteria of being known to the public, voluntarily entering the public view, and objectively having social influence, and belong to the category of public figures. For public figures, because they have a larger audience and the right to speak, they should bear a greater duty of care than ordinary people when making speeches. At the same time, the exercise of their private rights will also be subject to certain restrictions. Any Internet celebrity whose behavior involves illegal crimes, creates vulgar content, or violates social order and good customs can be regarded as bad Internet celebrities.
In their view, the criticism of bad Internet celebrities for their ugliness and weirdness has distorted the social atmosphere, and banning such accounts is what the people want. However, in a civilized and open society, mistakes are allowed. Boycotting bad Internet celebrities does not mean beating them to death with a stick. However, if they do not change their minds after their comeback, they must be resisted resolutely.
"Abide by laws and regulations is the basic obligation of every citizen, whether ordinary citizens or so-called Internet celebrities, there are no exceptions. Considering that the speech and behavior of Internet celebrities spread quickly and widely, they belong to a special type to some extent As a 'public figure', he should bear a higher duty of care to avoid inappropriate words and deeds that may cause adverse effects, including disrupting order or misleading the public, and infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of others." said Li Junhui, director of the Social Governance Development Research Department of the China Judicial Big Data Research Institute. , therefore, those that constitute illegal crimes should be dealt with in accordance with the law; those that do not constitute illegal acts, but do violate mainstream values and mislead the public, such words and deeds should be subject to platform regulations and moral condemnation.
Du Xiujun, a lawyer at Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm, proposed that for Internet celebrities who just say wrong things, if they do not cause bad social impact, do not break the law or violate social ethics, the relevant departments can not pursue the case, or interview them for rectification to ensure that they will not do it again. . If there is a clear violation of the moral bottom line or even illegal behavior, a large number of complaints and reports, or an infringement of the legitimate rights and interests of others, the relevant departments can pursue their legal responsibilities according to the law, and the platform can impose bans and other penalties in accordance with the platform rules. The public whose rights have been violated can file a civil lawsuit Infringement compensation, administrative and even criminal prosecution.
According to the interviewed experts, platforms should have the courage to take responsibility, raise the threshold, and increase efforts to identify bad Internet celebrities. Once discovered, they must dare to say "no"; Internet supervision departments should strengthen the supervision and tracking of bad Internet celebrities, and at the same time It is also necessary to give full play to the power of the masses, expand reporting channels for rights protection, encourage netizens to participate in network supervision, and consider establishing and publishing a list of public figures with bad deeds, and publishing it regularly.
The interviewed experts suggested that misdeeds should be classified in detail and clearly according to such issues as moral issues and legal issues, and an industry standard plan should be initially formed, and management regulations should eventually be formed to obtain the enforceability of relevant laws. According to the level of misdeeds, they can be restricted to varying degrees from transportation, finance and taxation, etc.; their related works must also be strictly controlled to avoid affecting the values of young people.
"With the explosive growth of the online platform economy, online platforms have become institutions that provide public services. In order to clarify the rights and obligations of online platforms, users and regulatory agencies, it is necessary to unify the banning standards of each platform. However, unified standards should not be too detailed. , online platforms should be granted certain self-regulatory rights under principled unified standards, and at the same time provide users with complaint channels, which should not only protect network security, public interests and platform interests, but also protect legitimate rights and interests such as users’ freedom of speech,” Du Xiujun said. .
Li Junhui suggested that Internet celebrities who belong to the field of performing arts can be regulated and regulated by the China Performing Arts Industry Association; Internet celebrities who do not belong to this field may need organizations in other fields to establish corresponding rules and standards, or they can be regulated by industry authorities from the perspective of information dissemination. Regulation or restriction.
Strictly abide by public order and good customs
Express personal opinions rationally
In order to control the chaos related to Internet celebrities, relevant departments have successively introduced many measures in recent years.
In April 2022, the Cyberspace Administration of China and other departments launched a three-month special campaign to "clear up and rectify chaos in the field of online live broadcasts and short videos", focusing on rectifying illegal activities such as "sex, ugliness, weirdness, fakeness, vulgarity, and gambling" The illegal content appears chaotic.
In July 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of "Self-Media"", requiring restrictions on profits from illegal activities. For "self-media" that create vulgar characters, violate public order and good morals, or engage in malicious marketing by linking multiple accounts to speculate on hot social events, website platforms should cancel or not grant them profit-making authority.
In addition, the "Regulations on Ecological Governance of Internet Information Content" clearly encourages online information content producers to produce, copy, and publish content that promotes core socialist values, promotes excellent moral culture and the spirit of the times, fully demonstrates the high-spirited spirit of the Chinese nation, and other content that speaks volumes. Taste content that emphasizes style and responsibility, eulogizes truth, goodness, and beauty, and promotes unity and stability. At the same time, it is stipulated that online information content producers should take measures to prevent and resist the production, copying, and publishing of harmful information containing content that promotes vulgarity, vulgarity, and kitsch.
The "Code of Conduct for Online Anchors" also points out that online anchors should adhere to the correct political direction, public opinion orientation and value orientation, maintain a healthy style and taste, and consciously abandon vulgarity, vulgarity, kitsch and other low-grade tastes. It also specifically proposes that sexually suggestive and provocative content such as clothing, makeup, language and behavior, and live broadcast room settings are strictly prohibited.
Experts interviewed believe that as Internet celebrities are participants and disseminators of Internet culture, their words and deeds directly affect the development direction of Internet culture. Strengthening legal regulation of Internet celebrity speech is not only a need to maintain online order, but also a necessary measure to promote social harmony and stability. Internet celebrities should also consciously abide by laws and regulations, learn the rules issued by relevant departments and platforms in a timely manner, understand the boundaries and bottom lines, enjoy freedom of speech while assuming social responsibilities, use positive energy to guide online public opinion, and jointly create a clear and healthy Internet space.
"If 'immoral' behavior exceeds the bottom line of public acceptance, even if legal responsibility is not pursued, it cannot become the object of public communication. Regulatory departments, platforms and society should supervise Internet celebrities more strictly and strengthen the correct orientation. Platforms serve as information dissemination As an important channel, strict review procedures should be applied to the words and deeds of Internet celebrities to ensure that the content published by Internet celebrities complies with laws, regulations and social ethics to maintain social order and public interests." Wang Hong said.
Hu Gang, deputy secretary-general of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Internet Society of China, pointed out that currently, each platform has established its own Internet content management system in accordance with the law, but the self-built content management system often conflicts with the interests of the platform's business objectives. The scale, proportion, and timing of actual implementation The pace, etc. may vary, as will the intensity and persistence of the content management measures taken accordingly. Regulatory departments and specific regulatory personnel in various regions will inevitably have certain differences in understanding and implementation of laws, regulations and policies for specific content, and there will be loopholes in regulatory arbitrage.
He suggested that in order to unify and optimize Internet content management, we can study and explore the substantial separation of platform content management and operation management, and establish an independent, fair, and professional Internet content management mechanism. Regarding violations of laws and regulations, multiple departments such as Internet Information, Industry and Information Technology, and Public Security must also strengthen coordinated supervision. On the one hand, they should promptly discover and deal with illegal content through technical means and manual review; on the other hand, they should warn and ban illegal Internet celebrities. Penalties will be imposed and legal responsibilities will be pursued in accordance with the law when necessary. At the same time, the public should also improve their media literacy, treat the comments of Internet celebrities rationally, and not be misled by false information.
“To put an end to the borderless chaos of Internet celebrity speech, the most critical and long-term way is to cultivate and practice the core socialist values, sing the main theme, promote positive energy, and form a society-wide consciousness to prevent and resist all kinds of vulgarity, vulgarity, and kitsch The good trend of bad information." Hu Gang said that it is necessary to not only protect the freedom of speech of Internet celebrities, but also maintain online order, find a balance between the two, and ensure that the Internet becomes a positive force for promoting social progress. (Legal Daily)