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Tencent Bans 1,463 WeChat Accounts as China Cleanses Content

Tencent Bans 1,463 WeChat Accounts as China Cleanses Content

Tencent Holdings Ltd. imposed a rare ban on more than 1,000 WeChat accounts after China kicked off a two-month crackdown on commercial platforms and social media accounts posting financial information that’s deemed harmful to its economy. 

A total of 1,463 WeChat accounts, including the one run by Essence Securities Co.’s chief strategist Chen Guo, were banned due to unspecified financial media irregularities, Tencent said in a statement on its website on Thursday. Some accounts were shut permanently while others faced a seven-day restriction.

The tech behemoth, which has a billion-plus WeChat members, said it is actively responding to the cybersecurity watchdog’s crackdown on financial media that are doomsayers over markets, spreading rumours, or involved in blackmailing activities. It also vowed to severely punish those spreading information on crypto trading.

The Cyberspace Administration of China in August launched an initiative to focus on rectifying violations including those that “maliciously” bad-mouth China’s financial markets and falsely interpret domestic policies and economic data. The move is aimed at cultivating a “benign” online environment for public opinion that can facilitate the “sustainable and healthy development” of China’s economy and society. 

Commercial websites and platforms will be ordered to clean up financial information posts and shut accounts deemed in violation, under the supervision of authorities including the cyberspace administrator, the finance ministry, the central bank as well as securities, banking and insurance regulators.

Technology firms and social media operators including Tencent and ByteDance Ltd.’s news aggregator Toutiao and Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, have pledged to abide by the rules and regulate financial information-related content. 

Mutiple calls to Essence Securities went unanswered. Chen last updated his account on Monday.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

With assistance from Bloomberg