China deletes 7 million online information, apps Over Vulgar Info
China’s cyber watchdog on Wednesday said it had deleted over seven million(7m) pieces of online information as well as 9,382 mobile apps, and it criticised tech giant Tencent’s (0700.HK) news app for spreading “vulgar information”.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement on its website the action was part of a clean-up of unacceptable and harmful information that started this month, adding that it had also shut down 733 websites.
The administration singled out Tencent’s Tiantian Kuaibao news app, saying the platform had been ordered to make changes as it had been spreading “vulgar and low-brow information that was harmful and damaging to the internet ecosystem”.
However, Tencent did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The regulator also criticised Huaban, a photo-sharing social network, as having “serious ecosystem problems”.
Huaban said on its website its online service had been temporarily taken down for upgrades.
Control of the internet has tightened under President Xi Jinping – an effort that has accelerated since 2016, as the ruling Communist Party seeks to crack down on dissent in the booming social media landscape.
In November, the CAC scrubbed 9,800 social media accounts of independent news providers for violations that included spreading politically harmful information and falsifying the history of the Communist Party.
Recall that China last year in April shut down more than 13,000 websites in the last three years as Beijing sought to tighten its grip on the internet.
The mobile apps for four popular news apps in China, including the most popular aggregator, Jinri Toutiao, were removed from a number of Chinese smartphone app stores following reports of a crackdown by the country’s media watchdog.
Toutiao, with about 120 million daily active users, was not available on the app stores of smartphone manufacturers Xiaomi and Meizu on Monday afternoon. The apps for Tiantian Kuaibao, Netease News and Ifeng News were also not found on Xiaomi.
China’s authorities have asked several of the country’s smartphone app stores to remove the four apps by 3pm on Monday as part of efforts to “regulate order in the broadcasting environment”, according to Chinese news portal Sohu.com. The apps will be removed for between three days to three weeks, with Toutiao being offline for the longest period, according to the Sohu report.
China has been tightening its control of the internet, clamping down on content deemed inappropriate. China’s top media watchdog, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television, last week singled out Jinri Toutiao and short video app Kuaishou for disregarding regulations and “disrupting order” in the online media and entertainment industry last week. Kuaishou has since said it will add another 3,000 employees to police content.
The removal from popular app stores would hurt Toutiao’s ability to attract new Android users. The app could still be found on Apple’s China app store as of the time of publication.