What’s new: Cyberspace regulators in Beijing have summoned Quora-like question-and-answer site Zhihu Inc. for repeatedly allowing the publication and spread of what it described as “illegal information” on its site.
At the meeting, which was held at the direction of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), Zhihu was ordered to immediately rectify the issue, according to a statement (link in Chinese) on Monday by the Beijing municipal cyberspace information office.
The statement did not define “illegal information.”
Regulators have also filed a case against Zhihu which could result in an administrative penalty imposed on the company at a later date.
The company said it will strictly implement various rectification requirements and suspend relevant functions during the period, the statement said.
Caixin has reached out to Zhihu for comment, but had not received a response by the time of publication.
Zhihu, which went public on the New York Stock Exchange in March, saw its shares plunge 10.6% to close at $5.17 on Monday.
The background: Platform operators in China are facing greater pressure to comply as authorities step up efforts to control and monitor online content.
In September, the Communist Party and the State Council published a set of guidelines that urged the development of a “civilized cyberspace” by strengthening standards on online culture, ethics and behavioral norms.
Last week, Twitter-like social media giant Weibo Corp. was handed a 3 million yuan ($471,000) fine, also for repeatedly allowing “illegal information” to be posted on its platform. CAC said in a statement (link in Chinese) that regulators in Beijing imposed 44 penalties on Weibo totaling 14.3 million yuan in the first 11 months of the year.
Earlier, CAC fined (link in Chinese) popular book and movie review platform Douban 1.5 million yuan for similar offences.
Contact reporter Kelsey Cheng (kelseycheng@caixin.com) and editor Heather Mowbray (heathermowbray@caixin.com)
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