Overview

• China’s cyberspace regulator said it has summoned Toutiao, ordered rectification on a deadline, issued a warning and pledged to hold responsible staff to account after finding “harmful content” on the app’s trending search list.
• The regulator announced similar measures for Alibaba’s UCWeb over entries tied to online violence and minors’ privacy, adding to penalties disclosed earlier this month for Weibo, Kuaishou and Xiaohongshu.
• The campaign seeks to curb material that incites conflict or violence and posts that promote defeatist messages such as “hard work is useless” or “studying is useless.”
• Targets include tutorials or sales of doxxing tools, organized fan-group harassment and mass reporting, fabricated information, economic rumours and “sensational conspiracy theories,” with AI-generated violent content also flagged.
• Authorities have not specified the campaign’s start date or detailed punishments, and the announcement follows police action against three people accused of fabricating videos about actor Yu Menglong’s death.