Foreigners get their live-streaming channels suspended in China

Foreigners get their live-streaming channels suspended in China. Image: Schiefelbein/AP/REX/Shutterstock Live streaming is taking off in China, but foreigners won't be able to join in the fun. Foreigners are reporting having their accounts suspended on big streaming platforms, where popular users are raking in big bucks through virtual gifts and other microdonations. "The app sent me a message saying I had broken some rules, but I was just broadcasting," the Blued user said. "Then, staff told me there was a new national regulation." The law may be in place, but proper instructions to streaming services appear to be unclear. Image: yizhibo Live-streaming apps are massively popular in China, with some 300 million people in the country having used such apps in 2016. To put that into context, the population of the entire U.S. is slightly over 300 million. Many live-streamers broadcast every aspect of their everyday lives, from playing games online to putting on makeup, with some treating it as a full-time job. Especially popular live-streamers have earned millions off such apps, and users are able to present virtual gifts to their favourite live-streamers, which can later be monetised.