ByteDance's Toutiao Said to Be Ordered by China to Halt New Registrations Since September

TikTok parent company ByteDance is said to have been blocking new user and content creator registrations for its Chinese news aggregator Jinri Toutiao since September at the behest of regulators.

The company is said to have sought permission from Chinese regulators, which have ordered it to shut down new registrations and restrict new content and user accounts on the platform. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the situation earlier today and cited multiple sources from people close to the situation who claimed to have knowledge of it.

The WSJ cited “two people briefed on the matter” who claimed that ByteDance did this with the approval of regulators and that ByteDance has also sought to limit searches related to the coronavirus (Covid-19), which has infected more than 83,000 people and killed 2,851 globally since the outbreak began in late January.

Both these accounts are said to have come directly from people close to the company and the platform, rather than someone inside the company who is disgruntled about working conditions there.

The reports said that ByteDance has been trying to keep new account and user registration levels low for some time and that they only decided to do this with regulators’ approval in order to “stabilise” their growth.

Some of ByteDance’s efforts are said to include making it easier for users to delete their account, removing the ability to share content from the app, and limiting new users and content to the app.

One source told the WSJ that the company now wants to take the “next step” by closing the app down completely and removing its entire app from Apple and Android. The source told WSJ that this was due to the Chinese government banning the app earlier this month.

There is still no official confirmation on the situation from ByteDance, and none is yet forthcoming from the company, but the WSJ’s reporting matches other leaks about the situation that have emerged from people inside the company.

In the meantime, ByteDance’s parent company, the TikTok-owned Beijing ByteDance Technology Company, said that it was working with US regulators to “ensure ByteDance’s compliance”.

There have been no official announcements on the subject from Apple or Google.

“Given the sensitivity of this matter, we have nothing further to share on this issue at this time,” a Google spokeswoman told us.

It is not yet clear what would happen to the hundreds of millions of people who make their money by creating and sharing videos on ByteDance and its TikTok clone app, which were launched in 2017.

Some people are likely to end up losing their job.

However, other users who post videos on the platform, but don’t make much money on it, might not have as big of a problem.

ByteDance’s users have created more than 400,000,000 videos, according to WSJ’s sources. It’s not clear how many of those videos are still available to download.

We’ve also reached out to TikTok for a comment and will update this story if we hear back.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. More info in our Cookies policy.OKMore info

 

 

 

 

 

 # Personal Accident Insurance # climate change # watershed moment # green water policies # Water crisis # temperatures rise # Waste Water # Storm-Water Management # Land surveying # Mining Efficiency # Mine Water Management # Environmental Stress # food and water shortage # water scarce # rank online # digital marketing # Additional information # photography tips # Farming Tools # Farming Implements # CORN FARMING # URBAN AGRICULTURE # Biodynamic # Biodynamic farming # Biodynamic Agriculture # natural agriculture # correction in photography # Agriculture # photography # watershed # environment # permaculture # Hydroponics # Gardening # Natural farming # Health Insurance # watershed # organic farming # Waste Management # Waste Water Treatment # Water Management Systems # Environmental Management # Stormwater Management # Houston Maritime Attorney # car insurance # accident Lawyers # Effects of Agriculture # Sustainable agriculture # hydroponic farming # hydroponic # future of farming # hydroponics method # Personal Injury Lawyer # lawsuit # personal injury lawsuit # Personal Injury Examples # restoration agriculture # Agriculture Definition # Agricultural Development # Restoration Agriculture Institute # Truck Accident Attorney # Big Rig Accident Lawyer # Lawyer in Los Angeles # Los Angeles Truck Accident # Agriculture # photography # watershed