Online industry's unregulated run ends

On Tuesday, the China Association of Performing Arts' online branch blacklisted 58 online news anchors for five years.

Lately, news anchors, especially livestreamers, have come under the spotlight for using inappropriate language or not being "properly" dressed.

Only a few commit such crimes, but the entire online performing arts industry's reputation suffers; many do not consider "online news anchor" a respectable job. The behavior of a few is unfair to millions of online news anchors and live-streamers who work diligently.

The punishment was long overdue and it comes not from an official agency, but from an association of performing artists, proving that the industry is able to self-regulate.

When an industry sets discipline guidelines for its members and resolves to ensure they strictly abide by them, the industry can self-regulate and evict those breaking the regulations－which will be a win-win result for both the law enforcers and the industry participants.

The mobile internet has lowered the threshold for many industries. Anybody holding a smartphone can now claim to be an "online news anchor" or "reporter". However, many of them will not behave professionally without an industry code to abide by. The period of unregulated luxuriant growth is definitely over for all internet-based industries.