How Douyin Censors Anti-PRC, Communist Party Content

Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, has detailed rules banning criticism and 'subversion' of the PRC and its Communist Party, according to Douyin documents examined by IPVM.

News coverage has scrutinized TikTok over alleged PRC government influence but has focused less on how its parent company ByteDance strictly censors anti-Party content on Douyin, in line with national regulations.

In contrast, TikTok's regulations do not prohibit criticism of any particular country or political party.

In this post, IPVM examines Douyin's censorship and what it shows about ByteDance.

Douyin Background

ByteDance describes Douyin (抖音) as "China's leading destination for short-form mobile videos". Douyin, with ~600 million active users, is used within the PRC while TikTok (unavailable in the PRC) has over 1 billion active users. Both apps have the same logo and overall format.

ByteDance is a private company headquartered in Beijing with a PRC CEO although it is legally domiciled in the Cayman Islands (similar to other PRC companies like SenseTime and Alibaba) due to PRC foreign capital restrictions.

Promotes "Chinese Nation" And "Socialism"

Douyin's Community Self-Disciplinary Regulations (抖音社区自律公约) state Douyin "adheres to and promotes" the "traditional culture and virtues of the Chinese nation" and "the core values of socialism":

Douyin adheres to and promotes the core values ​​of socialism, promotes the traditional culture and virtues of the Chinese nation, encourages a positive lifestyle, and constantly transmits positive energy. 抖音坚持和弘扬社会主义核心价值观，宣扬中华民族传统文化和美德，鼓励积极向上的生活方式，不断传递正能量

Prohibits Content "Subverting State Power"

Douyin's Self-Disciplinary Regulations ban content that "damages the national image or interests" of the PRC or "subverts state power" or encourages people to protest:

1) oppose the basic principles established by the Constitution 反对宪法所确定的基本原则

2) endanger national security, leak state secrets, subvert state power, and undermine national unity 危害国家安全，泄露国家秘密，颠覆国家政权，破坏国家

3) damage national image , damage national honor and interests 损害国家形象，损害国家荣誉和利益

6) inciting illegal assemblies, associations, and demonstrations, gathering crowds to disrupt social order, undermine social stability and public safety 动非法集会、结社、游行、示威、聚众扰乱社会秩序，破坏社会稳定与公共安全；

Bans "Ridiculing" PRC Political System And Leaders

Douyin Mini-Programs (sub-applications only available within the Douyin app) ban any content that attacks, ridicules, or contradicts the PRC political system:

content identified as violating relevant current policies, laws and regulations include but are not limited to: Attack, tamper with, and ridicule my country's political and legal systems, and tout the opposite of the major policies strongly advocated by the current state; 被认定为违背相关现行政策与法律法规的内容种类包括但不限于... 攻击、篡改、调侃我国政治制度和法律制度，与现行国家极力倡导的大政方针唱反调；[emphasis added]

Douyin Mini-Programs prohibit those who "criticize the country's political leaders" and damage the image" of Communist Party members, the military, and the police:

Wantonly criticize the country's political leaders and administrative units, maliciously slander or damage the image of the PLA, national security, police, administration, judiciary and other national civil servants and the image of Communist Party members 大肆抨击国家政要与行政单位，恶意中伤或损害人民军队、国安、警察、行政、司法等国家公务人员形象和共产党党员形象；[emphasis added]

Douyin Mini-Programs ban damaging the image of the PRC or any "revolutionary leaders, heroes, and martyrs" or advocating independence for Hong Kong, Tibet, Taiwan, and Xinjiang:

damage the image of the country; damage the image of revolutionary leaders, heroes and martyrs; [advocating] separatism of the PRC, such as opposing "One China" and "One Country, Two Systems", reflecting Taiwan independence, Hong Kong independence, Tibet independence, Xinjiang independence, etc; 损害国家形象；损害革命领袖、英雄烈士形象；分裂国家，如反对“一个中国”“一国两制”，反映台独、港独、藏独、疆独等；[emphasis added]

Douyin E-Commerce Bans "Harmful Information" Like Maps Without Taiwan

Douyin's E-Commerce Rules prohibits selling books or other content with "harmful information that endangers national security and undermines political and social stability" (危害国家安全、破坏政治与社会稳定的有害信息类) along with maps that do not adhere to the PRC's One China Policy by omitting Taiwan, using this example of an illegal map for not containing Taiwan:

Douyin's E-Commerce Rules further prohibit "Products or information" that "damage national honor and reputation" or "distort, vilify, blaspheme, deny the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs" (含有损害国家荣誉、名誉，歪曲、丑化、亵渎、否定英雄烈士事迹和精神).

Comparison To TikTok

In contrast, TikTok's Community Guidelines do not mention China, the PRC, the Communist Party, or any other political party or country. TikTok does ban "hateful ideology" such as Holocaust denial, White supremacy, misogyny, and anti-Semitism:

TikTok also bans anti-LGBTQ content, in contrast to Douyin's Mini-Programs which ban "non-mainstream views on marriage". Douyin's Self-Disciplinary Regulations makes no mention of banning anti-LGBTQ content.

Legal Origins of Douyin Censorship

Douyin's rules banning criticism of the PRC and its Communist Party are based on the PRC government's mandatory Standards and Detailed Rules for the Review of Online Short Video Content (网络短视频内容审核标准细则) which prohibit content that "endangers the socialist system with Chinese characteristics" (危害中国特色社会主义制度的内容), "damages the image of the country" (损害国家形象的内容), "divides the country" (分裂国家的内容), and "promoting unhealthy and non-mainstream views on marriage and love" (宣扬不健康和非主流的婚恋观的).

Douyin's Self-Disciplinary Regulations ("自律公约") are rooted in the 2002 Chinese Internet Society pledge requiring PRC internet companies to "vigorously carry forward the rich cultural tradition of the Chinese nation and the moral code of socialist spiritual civilization" (大力弘扬中华民族优秀文化传统和社会主义精神文明的道德准则).

Showcases ByteDance Involvement In PRC Censorship

To date, there has been no investigation of Douyin's internal regulations that IPVM could identify, although Douyin has faced media scrutiny over censoring Uyghurs US media coverage has focused largely on TikTok, not Douyin, and concerns that it puts Americans' data at risk, e.g.:

• The Guardian: TikTok’s ties to China: why concerns over your data are here to stay
• NPR: FBI says China could use TikTok to spy on Americans
• BuzzFeed News: Leaked Audio From 80 Internal TikTok Meetings Shows That US User Data Has Been Repeatedly Accessed From China

Douyin's extensive censorship shows that ByteDance actively censors on behalf of the PRC government and Communist Party, raising general freedom of expression concerns while also demonstrating ByteDance has the capability to censor anti-Party content on its other platforms.

ByteDance No Response

ByteDance did not respond to IPVM's comment request. If they do, we will update.