'Neglecting Illegal Content' Leads to Heavy Fines for Weibo in China

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 14th that Weibo, known as the "Chinese Twitter," was fined for repeatedly posting illegal content.

China's internet authority, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), announced that it imposed a fine of 3 million yuan on Weibo for repeatedly posting content that violates laws.

The CAC stated that Weibo failed to block illegal content and violated the Cybersecurity Law and the Minor Protection Law. It summoned the responsible officials for public criticism and ordered immediate rectification of the issues.

Weibo said through its official account, "We sincerely accept the regulatory agency's criticism" and "We will faithfully comply with the requirements."

SCMP reported that this action came just weeks after Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai posted on her Weibo account alleging that she was sexually assaulted by former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli.

Earlier this month, the CAC fined Douban 1.5 million yuan for publicly sharing illegal content, as Chinese authorities have been intensifying crackdowns on social media platforms.

The CAC has imposed a total of 44 fines on Weibo from January this year to last month, with cumulative fines reaching 14.3 million yuan.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.