China’s cyberspace regulator has issued warnings to ByteDance‘s news aggregator Jinri Toutiao and Alibaba Group Holding‘s internet browser operator UCWeb for inadequate content moderation, adding to a series of recent crackdowns targeting trending topics in online platforms.
In separate statements issued on Tuesday, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) accused both companies of “damaging the online ecosystem”. The regulator said Toutiao displayed “unhealthy content” on its hot search list and the top of its landing page, while UCWeb featured “sensitive and malicious topics” related to cyberbullying and children’s privacy.
The CAC said it summoned representatives from the companies and imposed disciplinary measures, including official warnings, directives to punish responsible individuals within the firms, and corrective orders with a compliance deadline.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
The UC Browser app seen on a smartphone. Photo: Shutterstock alt=The UC Browser app seen on a smartphone. Photo: Shutterstock>
Toutiao and UCWeb issued statements on Wednesday, saying they were cooperating with authorities and outlining plans to establish teams aimed at enhancing content moderation while rectifying their shortcomings.
UCWeb said the rectification process served as an “opportunity for deep reflection on our shortcomings in managing content rankings and the online ecosystem”. It pledged to enhance its trending search page to protect cyberspace.
Toutiao said it planned to form a special team dedicated to “self-examination and self-correction”. The focus would be on three key areas: improving review standards for trending topics, strengthening efforts against illegal content and maintaining transparency.
The regulatory moves followed increased scrutiny of various digital platforms in China this month.
On Saturday, the CAC accused Kuaishou Technology, operator of the country’s second-most popular short video app, and microblogging site Weibo of failing to effectively manage content, allowing celebrity gossip to infiltrate their trending topics.
On September 11, the regulator issued a similar disciplinary notice regarding the lifestyle social media platform RedNote, attributing the “disruption of the internet ecosystem” to the prevalence of celebrity gossip.
The initiative was part of a two-month investigation into online content that “viciously stimulates negative emotions” on short video, social media and live-streaming platforms, according to a notice published on the CAC’s website on Monday.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
