105 apps such as Tripadvisor in China are prohibited as illegal content

The Cyberspace Administration, which manages the Internet in China, announced that 105 apps, including Tripadvisor, a major travel service, were considered illegal and deleted from local app stores.

China has strict restrictions on internet connections and content. For example, it is building a centralized Internet censorship system called Geumsoon Engineering, and in China, access to US SNS such as Facebook and Twitter continues to be inaccessible. In addition, the Chinese government is showing a strict attitude toward content developed in its own country. For example, Toutiao, a news app released by Byte Dance, a provider of TikTok, and Neihan Duanzi, a social media app, have been released on the App Store and Google Play Store according to the authorities’ criticism that they contained obscene content. There were reports that it was deleted from the website.

According to this, on December 8, 2020, the Cyberspace Bureau deleted 105 kinds of apps, including Tripadvisor, from its local app store in the name of distributing content related to illegal activities such as obscene, prostitution, violence, and fraud. Announced.

According to reports, Apple China, the Chinese subsidiary of Apple, sent an email stating that the license approval number must be submitted to the app developer by December 31, 2020, and if not submitted, it will be deleted from the Chinese app store. In addition, it is said that only 97 apps outside of China have been issued game licenses.

It is unknown why Tripadvisor in the US, which organized hotel reviews and reservations among Chinese social media apps, was included in the crackdown. China’s Cyberspace Administration announced a statement that it is striving to strengthen monitoring and inspection of mobile app information services, remove illegal mobile apps, quickly purify the app store, and create a bright cyberspace. Related information can be found here .