China’s internet censor shuts financial news aggregator wallstreetcn.com amid worsening US relations over trade and tech
- Company behind app was fined in March by internet watchdog for posting news without obtaining a licence to operate as an internet news service
China’s internet regulator ordered the closure of wallstreetcn.com, one of the country’s most popular aggregator of financial news, saying that its “Wall Street News” service was in breach of cybersecurity laws.
“Wallstreetcn.com has severely violated rules under Chinese cybersecurity law. Please cut off internet access to the app and report related feedback after it takes effect,” said a June 10 government order that was sent to the bureau responsible for information communication under the ministry of industry and information technology.
Wallstreetcn.com issued a statement confirming the closure at 11pm, and said the company will carefully implement a comprehensive “self correction, improve its management and staff quality” and try to resume services as soon as possible.
Images of the government order circulated online show that it carries the stamp of China’s internet watchdog, the Cyber Administration of China (CAC). The order did not specify what the app had done, nor whether the suspension from internet access would be temporary or permanent.
Still, the shutdown of wallstreetcn.com followed a crackdown of China’s social media amid a deterioration in US-China relations, which has spilled over from the year-long trade war into an assault of Chinese technology.