106 Apps Removed for Infringing on User Rights and Interests, Including Douban and Changba
According to the announcement from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Thursday, based on the Personal Information Protection Law, Cyber Security Law and other requirements, a total of 106 apps, including Douban, Changba, Alihuishou and Knews, have been put on a list of apps to be removed.
Since the beginning of this year, MIIT has promoted special rectification on apps infringing on users’ rights and interests. On November 3rd, authorities inspected irregularities such as requesting permission at a high frequency and beyond reasonable limits, unnecessarily collecting users’ personal information, and deceiving and misleading users to download other software, among other infractions.
Up to now, there are still 106 apps that have not been rectified according to MIIT’s requirements.
According to the announcement, application stores are instructed to immediately remove the apps from their platforms. For some apps with serious violations and refusal to rectify the issues, the local communications administration shall impose penalties on their operators.
Douban, a popular social media platform and who is on the current list, has just been fined by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). From January to November, 2021, Beijing authorities imposed 20 separate penalties on Douban, totaling 9 million yuan ($1.4 million).
