The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued an edict last Thursday banning commercials that advertise fortune-telling SMS services.
The memo, Further Strengthening the Governance of Advertisements for Text and Audio Services, is directed at radio and television ads hawking SMS services that, for a small fee, will interpret your name, tell you a birthdate-based fortune, or help you find a soulmate. The Administration requires advertisements to “respect science and avoid promoting superstition or pseudoscience,” and these do not make the cut.
Also banned are ads for SMS-based personals and chat rooms, apparently because of pornographic content. Other sections of the memo call for strengthened inspection and enforcement of advertisements harmful to the physical and mental health of underage viewers.
Such advertisements are expected to remain at bus stops and on utility poles for the foreseeable future.
Original text of the memo is available from the SARFT website.