China's incredible online video censorship now includes extramarital affairs, flirtation, and ghostly scenes

China's incredible online video censorship now includes extramarital affairs, flirtation, and ghostly scenes
(Image credit: iStock)

Actually, the list is much, much longer than that. The following content has also been banned online in China:

Scenes of animal abuse, drug abuse, excessive horror, excessive physical contact, gambling, gore, hunting or eating protected species, incest, kidnapping, masturbation, murder, necrophilia, one-night stands, partner-swapping, prostitution, rape, sexual abuse, sexual perversion, and suicide. Racy subtitles, headlines, or anything containing reference to sex or nudity are also a no-go.

China has long taken the hard line when it comes to online pornography, but these new rules — issued by the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television — will affect more mainstream entertainment, including soap operas and pretty much any U.S. TV show that streams in China.

Plenty of people support the stiff regulations, saying it will make it easier to monitor what kids watch. But critics lament the suddenly limited streaming options. "According to this rule we can't watch action movies, romances, or horror movies," wrote one person online.

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Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.