Apps • News

All news and posts of our editorial team on the topic

Media investigation: TikTok hides posts
The social media platform TikTok, operated by the Chinese company ByteDance, continues to hide comments and posts in Germany that include specific terms. This was revealed by investigations conducted by Tagesschau.de, WDR and NDR. In the test with a total of 70 words and word combinations, at least 20 comment elements were reportedly discovered, which […] continue reading →
British Parliament closes Tiktok account
The British Parliament has closed its TikTok account over privacy concerns. MPs feared that TikTok’s Chinese parent company could pass on data to the government in Beijing. MPs had previously written to the speakers of the House of Commons and House of Lords.According to Sky News, a Tory MP explained that managers at TikTok could […] continue reading →
New data regulations drive out western apps
China is the world's largest Internet market. But it remains closed to many western providers. In recent months, more apps and online service providers have shut down. Censorship, new laws and regulations, and high costs are believed to be the cause. continue reading →
App providers to promote ‘socialist values’
China’s authorities have issued new rules for mobile apps. As of August 1, providers of messaging and information apps are only allowed to serve users who have registered themselves with their real names, as the business portal Caixin reports. According to the new regulations, app providers are also responsible for the content presented in the […] continue reading →
Elon Musk wants to make Twitter the western WeChat
Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants to expand Twitter into a universal app in the style of WeChat. He considers the Chinese model to be the best app in the world. With his version, he would benefit from the worldwide skepticism toward the data leech China. continue reading →
China wants to tighten control over algorithms
China's Internet regulator has passed a new law that will regulate algorithm-based recommendations on the Internet. The law affects a wide range of tech companies – from trading platforms to delivery services and social media groups. It opens the doors for government intervention and control of algorithms. continue reading →
TikTok filters content in Germany
The social media platform TikTok, operated by Chinese company ByteDance, does not show comments and posts in Germany that include certain words. This is reported by German news channel Tagesschau, referring to a self-conducted test. According to the report, journalists tested 100 words or word combinations from different accounts. The result: 19 words were not […] continue reading →
China’s smartphones dominate the Indian market
Last year, Chinese smartphone brands dominated the Indian market more than ever. Almost all locally sold Chinese smartphones are produced in India. But the market share of domestic brands is falling dramatically. India is failing to counter Chinese products with its own smartphone industry. An industrial policy failure, but one that could mitigate political escalations. continue reading →
India bans more Chinese apps
India has blacklisted 54 Chinese apps. The platforms, some of which belong to large Chinese tech companies such as Tencent, Alibaba, and NetEase, can now no longer be used in India. Some of the banned apps are apparently plagiarized from platforms that were already offered in India in the summer of 2020. At that time, […] continue reading →
Weixin and WeChat: making two out of one
WeChat, China's most popular messenger service with over one billion users, will soon be split into a Chinese and an English version. This is the response of parent company Tencent to regulations in the East and West: China dictates that data must not leave the country – and in the US, the threat of bans hangs over Chinese providers. The world is being divided into two data worlds. continue reading →
IOC justifies risks of Olympics app: turning a blind eye
The IOC defends the awarding of the Winter Olympics to Beijing with tooth and nail. Even warnings from IT experts about security holes in the My2022 registration system are shrugged off by the sports federation headed by the German Thomas Bach. The Olympic Sports Confederation only advises its athletes to delete the app immediately after their return from China. continue reading →
China’s app market is shrinking
The number of apps in Chinese app stores has declined by 38.5 percent in the last three years. This is shown by figures from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). According to the figures, around 4.52 million apps were still available for download at the end of 2018. By October 2021, the […] continue reading →
Government suspends permits for online games
New troubles for China’s billion-dollar app industry: regulators have indefinitely suspended issuing new sales permits for online games. The media regulator also called on managers of companies such as Tencent and Neteasy at a meeting to stop “solely fixating on profit” and to help counter what it claimed was widespread video game addiction. This was […] continue reading →
Government acquires stake in TikTok
China has bought into ByteDance, the publisher of the video app TikTok – with now presumably far-reaching veto power. The debate over the influence of the Chinese leadership over the popular app is now likely to flare up again. continue reading →
Internet companies face even more regulations
Chinese tech stocks recovered on Thursday. But investors remain skeptical whether the worst is over. Beijing announced its intention to further regulate the sector with a major campaign over the next six months. continue reading →
Data privacy: Didi removed from app stores
Only after going public, ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing is under attack by Chinese regulators. On Saturday the Cyberspace Administration ordered China’s internet providers to remove Didi from app stores, as reported by Bloomberg news agency. Currently, the popular app cannot be re-downloaded. Reasons list violations of privacy rules. As soon as Didi complies with national […] continue reading →
Zhang Yiming
It is fair to say that Bytedance founder Zhang Yiming is not a particularly talented manager. That may sound silly because, within nine years, he has created a digital platform with his Chinese start-up that has kept its customers worldwide glued to their screens longer than Facebook, Instagram, and the like. But Zhang made this […] continue reading →
Genia Kostka
One could almost think that the Chinese policy is in the hands of one family at Berlin’s universities. Genia Kostka has headed the Institute of Chinese Studies at Freie Universität since 2020, while her wife Sarah Eaton is a professor on the same topic at Humboldt Universität. Whenever the 42-year-old gets stuck in her research […] continue reading →