China Moves to Standardise Labelling of Short Video Content Across Platforms
China’s central internet regulator has announced plans to standardise how short video content is labelled across major online platforms, citing concerns about public misinformation and online disorder. The initiative, led by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), aims to ensure that content involving fictional narratives, staged performances or AI-generated material is clearly identified for users.
According to a notice published on China’s official cyberspace administration website, inconsistent labelling practices have allowed misleading short videos to circulate without adequate disclosure. Regulators say this has distorted public understanding, disrupted social order and undermined the quality of the online environment.
Mandatory labels and platform responsibilities
The CAC intends to issue unified guidance requiring platforms to standardise the types of labels used for short video content and to define which labels must be applied in specific circumstances. Content labelling will become a mandatory step in the video publishing process, with platforms expected to guide users to accurately tag their uploads.
In addition to new uploads, platforms will be required to review existing short videos in stages and add missing labels where necessary. The objective, according to regulators, is to achieve comprehensive and consistent labelling across all relevant content.
Early enforcement by major platforms
Six major platforms — Douyin, Kuaishou, Tencent, Xiaohongshu, Bilibili and Weibo — have already taken steps to implement the regulator’s expectations. Over the past month, these platforms collectively removed more than 37,000 short videos found to involve false staging or similar violations and took action against over 3,400 user accounts.
The platforms also added content labels to more than 600,000 existing short videos and published 18 public governance bulletins highlighting typical cases. Several platforms have optimised their publishing interfaces by moving content labelling options to the first-level upload page, making it easier for users to comply.
Nationwide rollout and enforcement measures
The CAC said it will next clarify detailed implementation requirements and timelines before rolling out the labelling framework nationwide. This will be accompanied by inspection and evidence-gathering activities to identify non-compliant accounts and platforms.
Platforms and users found to have failed in their labelling obligations may face penalties, with serious cases publicly named. The regulator says the measures are intended to strengthen platform accountability and improve transparency for users consuming short video content.
