The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said on Thursday it had summoned and fined social media company Douban over the unlawful release of information, as Beijing steps up efforts to control and “clean up” its internet space.
The internet watchdog said in a statement that Beijing authorities fined Douban’s operating entity 1.5 million yuan ($235,000) and regulators demanded “immediate rectifications” from the company.
Douban, an online platform where tens of millions of Chinese users review films and discuss various social topics, said its reply function had been suspended on Thursday and would be resumed on December 17.
The CAC did not give further details on the reason for the fine.
But it added that it would “seriously handle” relevant representatives of Douban and said the company had been fined a total of 9 million yuan in November.
Certain functions of apps in China have been suspended over “unlawful” or “lowbrow” content, and apps have been temporarily removed from apps stores for similar reasons in the past.
• Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard
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