SHANGHAI – As countries around the world struggle to censor the social media landscape, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said on Wednesday January 23 it had deleted more than seven million pieces of online information as well as 9,382 mobile apps.
According to Reuters, the Asian country’s cyber regulator also criticised tech giant Tencent’s news app for what it called spreading “vulgar information”.
CAC said in a statement on its website the action was part of a clean-up of unacceptable and harmful information that started in January 2019, 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”.
Reuters did not get an immediate comment from Tencent.
The watchdog 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 last year, the CAC rubbed 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.