Reporters have learned from authoritative sources that the State Administration of Radio and Television has issued a special campaign notice to address the online dissemination of inappropriate animated short dramas and videos. From now until March 2026, a nationwide campaign will be launched to regulate the online distribution of harmful animated short dramas and videos. This campaign, for the first time, includes AIGC-based, comic-style, and emoji-style animated short dramas in a categorized and tiered review system. By strengthening pre-screening, removing illegal content, and regulating dissemination, the campaign aims to create a clean online environment for minors.
Focusing on three key areas of governance, we will crack down on illegal and misleading dissemination.
This special campaign has identified three core areas for rectification, covering key aspects such as content compliance, regulatory processes, and dissemination boundaries. Regarding content violations, the focus will be on eliminating unethical content such as baseless parodies, vulgarity, acts of violence, extreme revenge, and distorted views on marriage and relationships. The use of images and voices of individuals with scandals or bad records in the production of materials is strictly prohibited, as is the dissemination of animated adaptations of already-taken live-action short dramas and parodies of familiar animated characters. Content involving obscenity, pornography, violence, cults, or other elements harmful to the physical and mental health of minors will be resolutely removed from all platforms.
In terms of compliance and supervision, the new regulations impose strict filing requirements: effective immediately, any newly added animated micro-dramas that have not undergone pre-approval and been properly numbered according to current micro-drama management regulations will not be allowed to be launched online. Existing compliant works must complete the filing procedures in stages by the end of March 2026. For key and general categories, the production company will submit the application to the local provincial radio and television department for review; for other categories, the platform will complete its self-review and then submit the filing information. From April 1, 2026, all existing works that have not completed the filing process will be forcibly removed from online platforms.
In response to the widely concerned issue of misdirected content dissemination, the action plan requires a comprehensive review of content tagged with "children's animation," "cute art style," "bedtime stories," and "baby food," and the immediate removal or cancellation of any works that have not undergone review by designated personnel for minors or lack age-appropriate information. Simultaneously, the plan strengthens the management of the minors' mode, resolutely eliminating inappropriate content in this mode to prevent minors from accessing harmful information.
Experts interpret: Low cost creates governance challenges, AIGC becomes a core target of regulation.
Notably, this crackdown marks the first time that animated micro-dramas based on comics, online articles, and emojis have been explicitly included in the regulatory framework, with AIGC-generated animated content being a key focus of review. "The core of this special campaign is to formally incorporate AIGC-generated animated micro-dramas into a categorized and tiered review system. This is a necessary measure to address the rapid iteration of technology," said Wang Xingquan, associate researcher and director of the Science and Technology Innovation Research Office at the Information Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, in an interview. He pointed out that the low-cost nature of AIGC and other technologies has led to an explosive growth in such content, making it a key focus and challenge for current regulation.
According to regulations, all types of animated short dramas will be subject to tiered review based on three categories: key, general, and other, and will be fully included in the "whitelist" system. The review standards and oversight criteria are stricter than before. For animated short videos, the new regulations require platforms to strictly implement a pre-review system, and local management departments will continuously supervise and verify the content. Platforms must provide prominent warnings before displaying content that may incite minors to imitate unsafe behaviors or generate extreme emotions. Works featuring minors as protagonists or audiences must comply with the content standards and age-appropriate rating requirements of the "Regulations on the Management of Programs for Minors."
