China continued its crackdown on the domestic tech sector, with gaming and messaging giant Tencent told that any new apps and updates must be approved by the government.
The company must submit any new apps or updates for inspection by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology before they can be uploaded or updated.
State media CCTV quoted the government as saying that nine of the group’s apps were found to have committed “violations” since the beginning of the year, prompting the need for “transitional administrative guidance measures”.
A Tencent spokesperson told AFP it would comply with the requirements and added: “We are continuously working to enhance user protection features within our apps, and also have regular co-operation with relevant government agencies to ensure regulatory compliance. Our apps remain functional and available for download.”
China has been tightening rules on the tech sector recently, after they have grown massively in the absence of regulations. Beijing has now introduced regulation in areas from antitrust to the way in which algorithms can be used.
In August, the regulators introduced rules that limited children under 18 years old to just three hours of online video games a week and during designated windows. Tencent was one of the most affected parties by the move.
Tencent third-quarter revenue came in at 142.4 billion yuan, which is up 13% from a year ago. However, it is the slowest quarterly revenue growth since it went public in 2004.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Technology Express staff and is published from a syndicated feed)
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