More information has emerged about the Chinese government demand that Apple crack down on streaming apps, with a new report circulating claiming that porn streamers are the government's major concern.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the main reason for the government's new interest in streaming app oversight is the concern that unregulated streaming apps host content that violates China's ban on "steamy content." As part of regulations passed in China in 2016, app stores, including Apple's, share responsibility for ensuring legality of streamed content.
Streaming service Huajiao employs monitors of streaming content, with 60 two-second snippets shown to workers. At present the company, which is many orders of magnitude smaller than Apple, has 150 in-house employees and 450 contractors to police live video around the clock.
Apple claims that it follows all laws regarding legal content, and what it must block. It is the only Western country with an app store in China, as Google Play is blocked after it chose to not register in accordance with the 2016 laws that formed the Beijing Cyberspace Administration.
Apple has taken fire for complying with China censorship requests. Apple pulled the New York Times app from the China store in January, after a request from the government. Additionally, it is being accused of blocking the "China Uncensored" satirical web video series on the Apple TV in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
The Beijing Cyberspace Administration, the Beijing Public Security Bureau, and the Beijing Cultural Market Administrative Law Enforcement Team have already met with Apple representatives to start the conversations. Live streaming generated over $4 billion a year in estimated revenues in China in 2016.