Chinese authorities order social media giant to clean up pornography from WeChat accounts

WeChat has more than 1 billion users and is the most popular social-media platform in China. Photo / 123rf

Chinese authorities have ordered the operator of its most popular social network to clean up pornographic content on its accounts.

The distribution of pornographic novels and lowbrow content on WeChat's official accounts has worsened and owner Tencent was ordered to remove questionable content and shut down serious offenders, according to a statement by The Office of Combating Pornography and Illegal Publications on its website.

"Tencent has to immediately conduct self-examination and self-correction," according to the statement.

WeChat will further strengthen its content and quality reviews, clear up vulgar content and improve the reporting mechanism, Tencent said in a statement.

Tencent has blocked or closed 1,706 WeChat official accounts since yesterday, it said.

WeChat has more than 1 billion users and is the most popular social-media platform in China.

The official accounts work much like homepages, with individuals and companies able to set up these pages to distribute content and add followers.

Tencent's share price dropped 3.1 per cent to HK$260.80 in Friday trading, extending this year's decline to 36 per cent.

- South China Morning Post