China extends crackdown on social media; Weibo and Kuaishou included

ISLAMABAD: The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s national internet regulator, has announced that social media platforms will face disciplinary and punitive measures for highlighting celebrity news and other “undesirable” content.

According to the CAC, popular platforms Weibo and Kuaishou will be among those targeted.

The measures may include summons for interviews, orders to correct violations within a specified timeframe, warnings, and strict sanctions against those responsible, the administration said — though it did not provide details on how these punishments will be implemented.

Weibo has been summoned by China's Cyber National Administration for its failure of fulfilling its main responsibility for information content management:https://t.co/KPFH8S1qCS

Xu Kai is in the process of suing all those who involved in the recent big cancel campaign,… pic.twitter.com/yobyiRGpro

— Xukai Drama Update (@xukaidrama) September 20, 2025

The CAC recently issued similar decisions against Xiaohongshu (also known as Rednote), an app that functions much like Instagram.

Key criticisms include that platforms have allowed excessive celebrity gossip and trivial content to dominate trending topics, undermining the online environment.

The country’s cyber administration urge all users of social media to stay stick to moderation while avoiding anything deemed to be too subversive, pornographic and vulgar.