TikTok rival Kuaishou gets police warning over content moderation, child protections

The warning was over alleged lapses in dealing with prohibited content in a timely manner and failing to protect minors

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Kuaishou was accused of violating the Cybersecurity Law by failing to remove unauthorised content in a timely manner. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 8:09pm, 22 Nov 2024

Chinese police have issued warnings to short video app operator Kuaishou Technology over alleged lapses in content moderation and protecting minors, according to a notice from local authorities.

The Beijing-based video platform was called out for missteps that authorities say violate the country’s Cybersecurity Law, including failing to “deal in a timely manner with information prohibited by local laws from being published or transmitted” and inadequate protection of children on its platform, according to a notice published to the WeChat account of the National Cybersecurity Information Centre.

“The Public Security Administration … ordered [Kuaishou] to fully implement youth protection, comprehensively investigate and clean up illegal information, and remove illegal accounts,” the Cybersecurity Centre said in the notice.

Kuaishou did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours on Friday.

The administrative penalty comes as Beijing has been seeking greater control over the digital lives of the younger users. In August 2023, the country’s top internet watchdog, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), proposed a draft rule aimed at curbing internet addiction and fostering socialist values among minors.

The agency said at the time that the rules were drafted to “improve the positive role of the internet, create a favourable network environment, prevent and intervene in minors’ internet addiction problems, and guide minors to form good internet use habits”.