In Zhengzhou, China, a young student has reportedly died following five consecutive all-night streams that lasted more than nine hours apiece. It has been said that the student, ‘Li Hao’, was working as an online streamer for Henan Qinyi Culture and Media Co., and was contracted to stream for 240 hours across 26 days, as well as upload 15 videos a month to bolster his content supply chain.
On November 10, Li was found to be unresponsive in his home by friends, and upon arrival at a local hospital, he was pronounced dead. It has been alleged that Li Hao was worked to exhaustion, having been transferred to the ‘night shift’ by his employers because of better tips and more earnings, a move that he apparently didn’t want to make.
It’s Not a Game
In a report published by China Daily, it was revealed that the company is actively challenging the allegations, denying that it’s responsible for the death of Li Hao. It was stressed by a representative of the company that:
We provide the location and we take a commission from his tips, and it’s just a simple cooperation.
It was claimed that employees are able to choose their own hours and the length of their live streams, and Li Hao overworked himself by trying to do so much alongside his studies.
According to reports, the company has offered Li Hao’s family the equivalent of $700 in compensation, but any further requests would need to go through legal channels. However, the company did also admit that live streamers often struggle to find a balance between earning their money and overworking themselves. With that being said, the representative still insisted that the company wasn’t responsible for what happened to Li Hao.
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