China has pledged to tighten scrutiny over content related to ancient tombs on livestreaming and short-video platforms, as the nation aims to intensify the fight against crimes involving cultural relics.

The move was announced by the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Cyberspace Administration of China after a number of livestreamers and video producers were found to have streamed or posted inappropriate or illegal content related to tomb explorations.

For example, it was discovered that some netizens posted videos in which they recreated scenes resembling archaeological sites and presented them as genuine in their posts, while some visited real sites and unearthed cultural relics illegally and then posted their findings, or identified them despite not being qualified to do so. Others posted content about ancient superstitions and provided information about tomb raiding and reselling cultural relics offline, according to the administrations.

"The internet users posted such content to get more online views, but those videos have misled the public and also disturbed the management of cultural relics and endangered their safety," the administrations said.

In one case disclosed by prosecutors from Longli county, Guizhou province, a man surnamed Chen was sentenced to nine months with a one-year reprieve in November last year for damaging cultural relics after he illegally entered an ancient cave in the area and livestreamed his visit on his mobile phone at around 11 pm on March 28, 2022.

The cave, which was used as a burial site by the Miao ethnic group during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), is one of Guizhou's cultural relics protection sites.

That night, Chen opened coffins and removed the human remains he found to film them in order to attract more online viewers, the prosecutors said.

His livestreaming damaged the relics in the tomb, and it was difficult to repair them, they added.

"With the rise of short-video platforms in recent years, some netizens and livestreamers have been overstepping moral and legal boundaries to gain profits, resulting in the frequent occurrence of vulgar content in cyberspace," they said.

While calling for stronger oversight on livestreaming platforms, the prosecutors also emphasized that judicial action will be taken swiftly if someone is found to have crossed legal red lines.

In an official statement released on Monday, the administrations said that they have launched a campaign to tighten supervision over online platforms, during which internet operators should strengthen their reviews of posted content and better regulate livestreaming and short-video services.

If suspected violations or crimes are found, internet platforms should cooperate with law enforcement, the statement said, calling for cyberspace and cultural relics protection agencies to increase information exchanges.

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