Tencent, Sina Apps Targeted in Chinese Privacy Crackdown

41 apps were ordered to make changes by December 31 or face prosecution.

Tencent, Sina Apps Targeted in Chinese Privacy Crackdown

QQ is popular with young people and has 653.4 million monthly active users

Highlights
  • China criticised 41 apps including Tencent messaging app QQ
  • Tencent's app made it hard to deactivate accounts
  • Sina Sports collected personal information without permission
Advertisement

China on Thursday criticised 41 apps including Tencent messaging app QQ and Sina's sports app for allegedly forcing users to hand over personal data, part of an ongoing campaign to boost digital privacy protections.

Tencent's app made it hard to deactivate accounts and required users to authorise access to a broad range of data, the industry and information technology ministry said.

Sina Sports, a major sports news site in China, collected personal information without permission, the ministry added in a statement.

QQ is popular with young people and has 653.4 million monthly active users, the second-largest messaging app in the country next to WeChat.

The 41 apps were ordered to make changes by December 31 or face prosecution.

Tencent and Sina did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The ministry said it had asked more than 100 companies to make changes to software applications as part of the privacy crackdown, with more than 8,000 apps complying so far.

© Thomson Reuters 2019

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: China, Tencent, QQ
Oyo Denies Report Claiming It Will Cut 2,000 Jobs in India by January-End
Old Jio Prepaid Recharge Plans Can Still Be Availed via Tariff Protection
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »