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China’s top internet regulator announced Tuesday plans to take action against ByteDance’s news app Jinri Toutiao and Alibaba’s web browser platform UCWeb over suspicious content. This move comes a day after a broader two-month social media crackdown was declared.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) emphasized its commitment to tackling content that promotes “malicious incitement of conflict” and spreads “negative outlooks on life, such as world-weariness.”
Beijing mandates that social media firms monitor their platforms carefully, controlling posts to prevent anything considered subversive, vulgar, pornographic, or otherwise harmful from spreading.
Earlier this month, the CAC already penalized three major digital platforms—Weibo, Kuaishou, and Xiaohongshu—for neglecting content management responsibilities. The authorities did not specify the exact punishments applied.
On Tuesday, the CAC said that actions against Jinri Toutiao included summoning company representatives for meetings, issuing directives to rectify issues within set deadlines, issuing warnings, and holding accountable those responsible. The platform failed to uphold its core role of content oversight and permitted harmful material to surface in its trending searches, harming the online environment. Specific details about the content or penalties were not disclosed.
The CAC stated, “Regulators will persist in focusing on prominent illegal and non-compliant activities that threaten the online ecosystem.”
Additionally, the agency announced similar measures against UCWeb, which is owned by Alibaba, after it displayed content related to “extremely sensitive and malicious” events like online violence and minors’ privacy issues.
The two-month campaign, introduced Monday, seeks to “regulate malicious conflict incitement, violence, and harmful online currents.” The agency listed particular issues targeted by the crackdown, such as exploiting trending topics to falsely link identities, regions, or genders with other information, and amplifying stigmatization efforts.
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