The box manufacturer said that the ban will be rectified and will not affect the use of the box

Recently, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued a "Letter on Immediate Closure of Illegal Video Software Download Channels in Wasu Media's Internet TV Terminal Products" (hereinafter referred to as the "Closure Letter"), which has caused heated discussions. The closure letter specifically pointed out that TV box manufacturers Wasu Media and BesTV pre-installed unapproved video apps such as iQiyi, Sohu Video, and Youku Video, providing technical support and channels for politically harmful, obscene, pornographic, vulgar and infringing pirated programs to enter TV sets in large quantities, seriously violating the central requirements and relevant management policies of the General Administration. They were required to close the download channel and immediately carry out technical processing. In response to the requirements in the "Closure Letter", box manufacturers such as iQiyi, Xiaomi, and Wasu all expressed their willingness to give active support.

Wasu and Bestone demand immediate rectification

The letter issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is mainly aimed at Wasu Media's Internet box "Tmall Magic Box" and BesTV's Internet box "Xiaohong Internet TV Set-Top Box". According to the "closure letter", the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television requires Wasu Media and BesTV to close the download channel and immediately rectify the content. Before the rectification is completed, no new Internet TV terminal products may be released. If the problem of harmful online programs entering TV sets through terminal products with Wasu Internet TV integrated platform cannot be effectively solved, the responsibility of the theme will be investigated.

It is understood that there are two types of TV boxes on the market. The first type is a product independently launched by companies with Internet TV licenses. The second type is a product jointly launched by license manufacturers and hardware manufacturers or video websites. The mainstream Internet boxes now include iQiyi, Xiaomi Box, LeTV Box, etc. Industry insiders pointed out that compared with the two products, the products independently launched by Internet TV licensees are easier to regulate, focusing on the rectification of content. After the "closure letter" is issued, only the content will be reduced, but it will not affect the normal operation of the box.

Many manufacturers responded: they will actively carry out content rectification

Many box manufacturers and Internet companies responded to the "closure letter" issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. Wasu Media, which was named in the letter, said that first of all, the requirements of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television are of great significance to purifying the market environment, and it will actively support this. Secondly, the Internet TV set-top box launched by Wasu Media and Alibaba contains client software such as iQiyi and Sohu, and some video aggregation software. After verification, it was mainly because the currently used intelligent operating system has open technical features, and users can install independent application stores and download third-party application clients by themselves. Regarding the existing problems, Wasu Company stated that it has sorted out and rectified them, and restricted users from downloading third-party application stores by themselves through mandatory notification of offline and terminal upgrades to ensure the content security of Internet TV.

Regarding the rectification requirements in the "closure letter", Xiaomi staff member Li Lei said that the Xiaomi box is connected to CNTV and does not pre-install any video terminals other than CNTV. iQiyi also said that it will actively respond to the policy of the Radio, Film and Television Bureau to increase content review, and said that the "closure letter" will not affect the normal operation of the box.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.