Chinese tech firm ByteDance censored anti-Beijing content in Indonesia, sources claim
- Moderators were allegedly instructed by ByteDance’s Beijing headquarters to delete articles seen as ‘negative’ on its BaBe new aggregator app
- Articles with the keyword ‘Tiananmen’ were removed, as well as content discussing tensions in the South China Sea, sources said
The sources said that local moderators were instructed by a team from ByteDance’s Beijing headquarters to delete articles seen as “negative” about Chinese authorities on the Baca Berita (BaBe) app.
In a statement, BaBe said it disagreed with the claims and that it moderates content according to its community guidelines and in line with Indonesia’s local laws. Those guidelines, which are published on its website, do not mention China or the Chinese government.
BaBe said that before the “more localised approach” it currently uses, Babe had some moderation practices in place that were not consistent with their philosophy of the Indonesian team deciding what was appropriate for its market.
“These guidelines were replaced in 2019 and we’ve since built and empowered local moderation teams to make decisions that suit the local market,” the statement added.
ByteDance in Beijing said it had no additional comment beyond the BaBe statement. China’s foreign ministry and its internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), did not immediately respond to requests for comment.