China warns WhatsApp to stop spread of ‘illegal information’
Crackdown on social media intensifies ahead of Communist Party congress
China has attacked WhatsApp, saying the messaging service should act to stop the spread of “illegal information” as the country seeks greater scrutiny of the internet in the run-up to its once-in-five years Communist Party congress.
WhatsApp should take proactive measures to intercept information to do with violence and terror, the Cyberspace Administration of China said in a statement in response to questions from Bloomberg News.
China has the authority to tell institutions to take these measures, said the agency, without specifying details of content it considered illegal.
“A country’s cyberspace sovereignty should be protected,” it added.
A spokesman for WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, declined to comment.