Advertisement
China tightens control of internet speech amid regulatory action against popular online communities
- Speculation is rising about the greater scrutiny of Chinese online communities, following recent regulatory action against popular virtual forums
- App operators Zhihu, Weibo and Duoban have each been disciplined by regulators for ‘illegal’ information found in their online platforms
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
Chinese online communities, where discussions mostly revolve around non-sensitive topics from films to celebrity gossip, could face greater scrutiny from regulators, following recent disciplinary action against popular virtual forums over their content.
Such speculation in the sector has grown after executives from Quora-like app operator Zhihu, which runs the country’s largest question and answer online community, were summoned on Monday by the Beijing Internet Information Office for publishing “forbidden” information, according to a notice from the authority. It did not specify the illegal information found on the platform.
New York-listed Zhihu was slapped with an undisclosed penalty by Beijing’s internet authority, which resulted in a 9.5 per cent decline of the company’s shares on Monday in the US.
Zhihu said in a statement that it “sincerely accepts the criticism from the authority” and would “improve the management system to moderate content” and how it “handles emergencies”. The Beijing-based firm also suspended the comment function on its website.
The action against Zhihu came about a week after internet watchdog the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) fined local microblogging platform operator Weibo 3 million yuan (US$470,346) for repeatedly allowing the publication of “information forbidden by law and regulations”.
Advertisement