Tencent cancels ‘drift bottle’ WeChat feature citing ‘pornography’ and ‘prostitutes’ in clean-up action
- The Chinese authorities have been on a drive to clean up the country’s online environment, urging more prudence over ads and real-time monitoring of content
China's censors continue to knock on the doors of the country's internet giants amid a broad-based push to crack down on illicit activities and inappropriate content, forcing many companies to regulate their own platforms more tightly.
In the latest instance, Tencent Holdings has decided to take down its “drift bottle” feature, a long-running function on its ubiquitous social networking platform WeChat that enables users to leave text or voice messages for random strangers to pick up.
“Through user complaints and media reports, we find there are still some cases which take advantage of the feature to disseminate pornography and solicit prostitutes,” Tencent said in a statement posted on its official account on Friday, adding that the WeChat team has moved to halt the function.
“We have been working hard to create a healthy and safe online environment and remind our users to keep up their vigilance and report any pornographic materials, erotic texts or harassment,” it added.
The decision comes after Baidu was fined 600,000 yuan (US$86,400) for publishing advertisements that contain pornography, gambling, superstition and violence, according to a report by the online edition of the People’s Daily over the weekend.