China Targets Mobile Pop-Ups in Latest Tech Crackdown (bloomberg.com) 8
China ordered Tencent Holdings and 13 other developers to rectify problems related to pop-ups within their apps, adding to a wide-ranging crackdown on the country's tech sector. From a report: The companies must address the "harassing" pop-up windows, which could contain misleading information or divert users away from the apps, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a statement on Wednesday. The 14 services, including an e-books app by Tencent's QQ and a video platform by Le.com, will have to fix the problems by Aug. 3. "Failure to abide by regulations" will not be tolerated and will be "penalized" accordingly, said the ministry.
Pop-ups, often used for advertising, are just the latest targets in a series of government crackdowns that have ranged from antitrust to data security, as Beijing seeks to rein in the tech giants' influence over most of everyday life. The crackdown has stepped into high gear in recent days after regulators announced their toughest-ever curbs on the online education sector and issued edicts governing food delivery, fueling a rout in Chinese tech stocks. The statement by MIIT comes days after the regulator announced a six-month crackdown on illegal online activities. The ministry on Monday said it will take steps to root out violations involving pop-ups, data collection and storage as well as the blocking of external links. Other regulators including the Cyberspace Administration of China have also pledged to tighten restrictions on misleading and explicit content used for marketing purposes. The watchdog said such material will be subject to harsher oversight, issuing fines against companies like Tencent, Kuaishou Technology and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. for offensive content.
Pop-ups, often used for advertising, are just the latest targets in a series of government crackdowns that have ranged from antitrust to data security, as Beijing seeks to rein in the tech giants' influence over most of everyday life. The crackdown has stepped into high gear in recent days after regulators announced their toughest-ever curbs on the online education sector and issued edicts governing food delivery, fueling a rout in Chinese tech stocks. The statement by MIIT comes days after the regulator announced a six-month crackdown on illegal online activities. The ministry on Monday said it will take steps to root out violations involving pop-ups, data collection and storage as well as the blocking of external links. Other regulators including the Cyberspace Administration of China have also pledged to tighten restrictions on misleading and explicit content used for marketing purposes. The watchdog said such material will be subject to harsher oversight, issuing fines against companies like Tencent, Kuaishou Technology and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. for offensive content.
Wait, what? (Score:3)
They're going to take down the great firewall of China?
Re: (Score:2)
Pop-ups that say "love your government" will get a free pass.
Part evil part good (Score:3)
I suspect that part of these regulations is to stop the types of annoying popups that will not be missed by anyone. Actually a good move.
And part of them is just an evil government wanting more control.
It would be interesting to know what is what.
Re: (Score:3)
They probably mean sites and apps that don't let posters post links to other sites. It's not that common but it does happen, especially in games.
...or divert users away from the apps (Score:2)
... or divert users away from the apps
Well, we can't have that. If you don't have the government-approved apps open all the time, we could miss an opportunity to spy on you.
This is sounding like Venezuela (Score:2)
Or more to the point, orders the former President Hugo Chávez would do. See something on the TV and say "Hey lets build that!" I mean, its one thing to start curbing the malware from your country, but popups? Granted China usually has more of those vs western websites but really? I am betting in 10 years we are going to stop saying China and saying whoever the current President/Emperor is.