Douyin, the Mainland Chinese sister app of TikTok, has begun a sweeping crackdown on illegal gambling-related activities on its video-sharing platform.
The firm says it is banning over 10,000 accounts daily as part of its purge, the Chinese media outlet Jiemian News reported.
Douyin says it has discovered criminal groups trying to bypass safety checks and the algorithms that automatically detect gambling-related content.
Many unscrupulous content creators reportedly circumvent the checks by posting “cryptic messages” that let them evade platform monitoring.
Some of these messages, however, redirect users to external gambling sites, Douyin said.
The platform says it has started taking action against offending accounts.
So far this year, Douyin says it has penalized 55,000 live streaming accounts that allowed gambling promoters to post these “cryptic messages.”
It has also indefinitely revoked live streaming privileges for some 14,000 accounts.
Douyin: Gambling Crackdown
The firm said it also works with police and other law enforcement officials in their efforts to prosecute suspected online gambling promoters.
Since last year, Douyin says the leads it has reported to the police have resulted in 148 arrests.
Police and prosecutors have also dismantled six criminal networks involved in gambling-related activities as a result of Douyin reports.
Douyin said it “strictly prohibits users from using its platform services to organize gambling, recruit gamblers, or engage in other illegal or criminal activities.”
The platform said it will also continue to ban and report accounts whose operators create videos that teach users “gambling skills, cheating techniques, or introduce tools used to cheat [online casino platforms].”
ByteDance, which also operates TikTok, launched Douyin in 2016. The two platforms use almost identical user interfaces. But these interfaces are not linked, so videos uploaded to TikTok do not appear on Douyin, and vice versa.
Most Users are Young Urbanites
Douyin was developed exclusively for the Mainland Chinese market and complies with Chinese regulations.
The platform also functions as an online marketplace that lets users buy products directly through videos or livestreams, via their own Douyin Stores.
The platform has around 766 million monthly active users, and almost as many daily active users.
The vast majority of its users are aged under 35, with most based in major urban centers.
Earlier this month, police in Hong Kong raided an underground gaming arcade that reportedly rewarded high-scoring players with cash prizes.
Officials arrested the arcade’s operator, as well as several suspected patrons.
