China shuts thousands of websites, apps in latest internet crackdown
Chinese authorities have launched a major crackdown on content deemed malicious in the country’s cyberspace, banning thousands of websites, mobile apps and show hosts to create a “joyful internet atmosphere.”
The campaign targeted “unhealthy home pages, links to pornography and vulgar content, malicious marketing hype, unhealthy social behavior and cyber violence,” according to the Cyberspace Administration of China.
Since February, the authorities have shut down 2,300 websites and 520 mobile apps, banned 72,000 accounts and 7,200 online show hosts for circulating such content. A total of 2.08 million online messages had also been removed, the administration said.
Executives running online services including UC Browser, a web browser operated by an Alibaba subsidiary, were summoned by regulators after their platforms were found to have published pornographic and vulgar content to attract traffic, mainland media reported.
Some vendors on shopping sites Taobao and Pinduoduo and bloggers on Sina Weibo had also been warned or suspended for distributing pornographic content or gambling-related messages, the reports said.
The cyberspace watchdog said they would continue the crackdown on irregularities on the internet.
Other leading internet players, including Tencent, social networking service website Douban and video-sharing website Bilibili, had issued notices to users about the official crackdown, mainland news reports said.
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