THE country’s cyberspace regulator has issued a circular calling for an internet-wide boycott of entertainers who have broken the law or transgressed social morality.

There will be no room for such entertainers to seek a comeback by circumventing restrictions, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission said in the circular.

Celebrity-related content promoting vulgar information or containing fake online reviews, unproven stories about entertainers or irrational acts of idol-worship, among other content, is prohibited on the internet, the office said.

Content involving entertainers endorsing products, services, brands or for-profit events can only appear as advertisements with conspicuous marks on internet platforms, the office said.

Zhu Wei, a communications researcher at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, said Tuesday that as public figures, entertainment celebrities have a greater social identity, and they have more power to mobilize public opinion than ordinary people, so they should also assume higher social responsibility and moral standards.

Zhu also called on online platforms to take responsibility. For example, information that may cause widespread social concern, such as the violation of celebrities’ privacy, or cases where they break laws and commit crimes, and fans’ conflicts, must be included in the public opinion monitoring system of the online platforms.

(Xinhua, Global Times)