China Removes 105 Apps In Cleanup Missions, One Of Which Is TripAdvisor From The US

JAKARTA - China removed 105 apps, including TripAdvisor, a travel company app from the United States (US) from app stores in the country. According to China it was carried out on a "clean-up" mission.

The new movement aims to eliminate applications deemed to be spreading content related to pornography, prostitution, gambling and violence.

China's Cyber Agency said Tuesday, December 8 in a statement on its website that the removed apps had violated at least one of three cyber laws.

The agency, however, did not provide an explanation of the violations encountered in each application. Reuters requests for Beijing's TripAdvisor office for comment were not answered.

Chinese authorities said they had started the purge movement on November 5 in response to a strong reaction from the general public about content deemed offensive.

They also stated that they would continue to regulate various applications circulating in China and at the right time to remove applications that violate the law.

China highly regulates its cyberspace and penalties for cyber breaches are frequent, regardless of whether the app is operated by a domestic or foreign company.