China’s industry ministry has told technology companies including Alibaba Group and Tencent to stop blocking each other’s website links from their platforms, the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Saturday, September 11.
The newspaper, citing unnamed sources, stated the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology proposed standards to companies on Friday for instant messaging services, telling them all platforms must be unblocked by a certain time.
The ministry stated it may have to resort to other measures if the firms did not comply, the newspaper reported.
The move is the latest in a regulatory crackdown spanning industries from tech to entertainment and gaming companies.
Companies that attended the meeting included Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, Baidu Inc , Huawei Technologies, and Xiaomi, the newspaper reported. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
China’s internet is dominated by a handful of technology giants who have historically blocked links and services by rivals on their platforms, creating what analysts have described as “walled gardens.”
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