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Tencent faces possible record fine for anti-money-laundering violations - WSJ

Reuters
Posted at Mar 15 08:37 AM

Tencent Holdings is facing a potential fine, which could be at least hundreds of millions of yuan, for violating some central bank regulations on its WeChat Pay mobile network, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Read more »

China censors online Ukraine debate, bars calls for peace

Eduardo Baptista, Reuters
Posted at Mar 11 08:05 AM

China's censors are silencing views of citizens protesting against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Read more »

China’s WeChat, Douyin crack down on vulgar jokes and misinformation

Ann Cao, South China Morning Post
Posted at Feb 27 08:21 AM

WeChat, Douyin and Weibo said they are taking down posts and videos making fun of international news events. Chinese internet users have taken to various social media platforms to voice their opinions and feelings about the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Read more »

US adds e-commerce sites operated by Tencent, Alibaba to 'notorious markets' list

Kanishka Singh, Reuters
Posted at Feb 18 08:24 AM

E-commerce sites operated by China's Tencent Holdings Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd were included on the US government's latest "notorious markets" list of entities that allegedly sell or facilitate the sale of counterfeit goods, the US Trade Representative's office said. Read more »

Australia PM Morrison loses control of WeChat Chinese account as election looms

Kirsty Needham, Reuters
Posted at Jan 24 04:41 PM

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Liberal Party lost access to his official WeChat social media account months ago, politicians said on Monday, issuing claims of censorship, while the still-active account being run by a new Chinese controller now promotes Chinese life in Australia. Read more »

Popular science blogs disappear from China's biggest social media platforms in latest content crackdown

Xinmei Shen, South China Morning Post
Posted at Jul 16 01:10 PM

Science blogs Elephant Magazine and PaperClip disappeared from China’s biggest social media platforms on Wednesday despite mostly apolitical content. The accounts have previously been the subject of controversy, but the latest bans remain a mystery as Beijing tightens oversight of online content. Read more »

LGBTQ rights groups blocked on China's biggest social media app

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Jul 07 02:33 PM

Multiple social media accounts belonging to major university LGBTQ rights groups in China have been blocked from the popular WeChat app, prompting fears of targeted censorship and calls Wednesday for an online protest. Read more »

Biden drops plan to ban Chinese-owned apps TikTok, WeChat

Rob Lever, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Jun 10 06:50 AM

Biden on Wednesday revoked executive orders from his predecessor Trump seeking to ban the Chinese-owned mobile apps over national security concerns, the White House said. Read more »

Kindergarten teacher in China sacked for posting photos of boy forced to smell his feet

Mandy Zuo, South China Morning Post
Updated as of Apr 15 12:51 PM

A kindergarten teacher in southeastern China was sacked and detained for a week after making one of his students smell his foot and then publicly posting pictures of the incident on WeChat, local authorities said on Tuesday.   Read more »

Tencent super app WeChat beefs up short video-sharing, live-streaming features

Celia Chen and Iris Deng, South China Morning Post
Posted at Mar 30 01:16 PM

Tencent Holdings’ super app WeChat has reinforced its short video-sharing and live-streaming functions, according to the latest update of the multipurpose social media platform, amid increased competition from Douyin, the Chinese version of ByteDance-owned TikTok.   Read more »

TikTok owner ByteDance sues Tencent over alleged monopolistic practices, WeChat eyes countersuit

South China Morning Post
Posted at Feb 03 07:25 AM

TikTok owner ByteDance sued Tencent Holdings on Tuesday, alleging that its Beijing-based rival was violating Chinese antitrust laws by blocking access to content from Douyin, the domestic version of TikTok. Read more »

Trump signs order banning transactions with eight Chinese apps including Alipay

Alexandra Alper and David Shepardson, Reuters
Posted at Jan 06 09:26 AM

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group's Alipay, the White House said, escalating tensions with Beijing before President-elect Joe Biden takes office this month. Read more »

Viber aiming to be super app, 'but not like WeChat or Facebook'

Art Fuentes, ABS-CBN News
Posted at Nov 26 08:48 AM

Messaging platform Rakuten Viber is aiming to become a “super app” with its move to fintech territory, the company’s CEO said on Wednesday, but not in the same way that WeChat dominates China or even how large Facebook has become. Read more »

Phoenix Petroleum says 200 retail stations offering 'contactless' payments

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Nov 19 01:58 PM

Phoenix Petroleum Philippines is now offering contactless payment options in all of its 200 gas stations nationwide as part of efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, the firm said on Thursday.   Read more »

US appeals court rejects immediate WeChat ban

David Shepardson, Reuters
Posted at Oct 27 08:42 AM

A US appeals court on Monday rejected a Justice Department request that it allow the government to immediately ban Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google from offering Tencent's WeChat for download in US app stores.   Read more »

China's super rich got $1.5 trillion richer during pandemic: report

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Oct 20 03:30 PM

China now has a total of 878 billionaires. Read more »

US judges’ rulings to stop TikTok, WeChat bans show nat'l security claims have their limits

Jodi Xu Klein in New York, South China Morning Post
Posted at Oct 14 01:03 PM

Decisions are first substantial legal setback to Trump administration after series of actions against Chinese companies in name of national security. Washington’s concerns about Huawei Technologies and ZTE’s 5G infrastructure appear more legitimate, analysts say. Read more »

Trump tech war with China changes the game for US business

Rob Lever, Delphine Touitou, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Sep 24 12:08 PM

President Donald Trump's war on Chinese technology firms has changed the ground rules for global business, underscoring a new political reality that could have negative repercussions for American firms. Read more »

After Trump’s TikTok ban, China readies blacklist of foreign companies

Keith Bradsher and Raymond Zhong, The New York Times
Posted at Sep 21 10:49 AM

As the United States and China trade blows over technology, Beijing on Saturday moved to create a blacklist of foreign companies seen as threatening its national security or acting against Chinese business interests. Read more »

Judge halts WeChat download ban in US-China tech battle

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Sep 21 08:19 AM

A US judge on Sunday blocked the government's ban on WeChat downloads, hours before it was due to take effect in an ongoing technology and espionage battle between Washington and Beijing.   Read more »