Chinese Government Opens “Walled Garden”, WeChat Content Can Now Be Searched Through Google And Bing

WeChat content, however, is not yet searchable on Bing and Google. (photo: unsplash)

JAKARTA - Tencent - WeChat has made its content searchable on several foreign search engines such as Alphabet's Google and Microsoft's Bing. This comes from Reuters, which is dismantling the "walled garden" in China's internet sector.

Content from China's most popular messaging app WeChat, including articles and videos on its popular public account page, a function similar to a news portal, has been opened to external search engines, in addition to Tencent's Sogou search engine, in recent days.

Tencent, Google, and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Google is not available in China.

China's internet sector has long been dominated by a handful of tech giants who have historically blocked each other's rival links as well as their search crawlers. This practice is often referred to as “Walled gardens”.

In recent months, the practice has been targeted by Chinese authorities as part of a regulatory crackdown.

Last month, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) ordered companies to stop blocking links, which they said had affected user experience and undermined consumer rights.

MIIT has studied plans and conducted research to make WeChat content available on external search engines, according to a person with direct knowledge. MIIT and Tencent did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

WeChat content, however, is not yet searchable on Baidu, China's dominant search engine, according to a Reuters inspection. Baidu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Citi analysts said on a Tuesday, October 19 note that the potential "opening of the social ecosystem to search engines" is a positive development for Baidu, as "the position of the leading search gateway has been weakened and weakened by the growth and dominance of super-apps."