China penalizes the popular social network RedNote for its content management
The app, which in Chinese is called Xiaohongshu, targets users who share apolitical content about cooking, trends, sports, celebrities and decoration.
(FILES) A photo of a woman with her phone showing the Chinese app RedNote.
(AFP) China's internet regulator announced Thursday that it ordered "disciplinary and punitive measures" against popular social network RedNote, including "strict penalties" for its content management.
The app, which in Chinese is called Xiaohongshu, is focused on users sharing apolitical content about cooking, trends, sports, celebrities and decoration. Colloquially it is known as the Chinese Instagram.
The statement from the Chinese internet regulator indicated that the platform's "responsible persons" will be punished, as the company breached "its primary responsibility for content management."
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"Lack of diligence"
"These measures include a summons for interviews, an order to correct the violations within a certain period of time, warnings and strict penalties," the agency said in the text, without giving further details on the nature of these sanctions.
The Chinese cyberspace regulator specifically reproaches the platform for its "lack of diligence" in "assuming its primary responsibility for managing the content" disseminated online.
The criticism points against "the frequent presence, in the key sections of its trending list, of multiple entries that excessively promote celebrities' personal news and trivial content, thus affecting the internet ecosystem," the regulator said.
Xiaohongshu confirmed the citation and penalty "for the mismanagement of its trending searches" and stated that it hopes to learn "a lesson." They also announced that they created a working group dedicated to "rectification."
RedNote and its references
The app has become a reference for travel enthusiasts, who can find tips on sightseeing, restaurants and points of interest posted by other users.
As with Instagram and TikTok, the platform hosts many influencers who promote products in exchange for financial remuneration.
Last January, RedNote gained notoriety in the West after numerous U.S. internet users took refuge there, concerned about a possible ban on TikTok in the country.
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