WeChat's content, including articles and videos on its
popular public accounts page, a function similar to a news portal, has opened
to external search engines, other than its own Sogou search engine, in recent
days.
The Tencent-owned messaging app also announced last month
that it will start allowing users to access external links, days after
regulators told the company and its rivals to end a long-standing practice of
blocking each other's links.
China's technology giants have historically prevented links
and services by rivals from being shared on their platforms. However, regulators
said they were ordering firms to rectify this as the practice affected users'
experience and damaged consumer rights.
The move is part of a broader regulatory crackdown on the
industry that has wiped billions of dollars off the market value of some of
China's largest companies.
Tencent Holdings's popular WeChat messaging app will start
allowing users to access external links from Friday, days after regulators told
the company and its rivals to end a long-standing practice of blocking each
other's links.
China's technology giants have historically prevented links
and services by rivals from being shared on their platforms. On Monday,
however, regulators said they were ordering firms to rectify this as the
practice affected users' experience and damaged consumer rights.
The move is part of a broader regulatory crackdown on the
industry that has wiped billions of dollars off the market value of some of
China's largest companies.
WeChat said that it will implement the changes in phases,
starting with allowing users to access links in private, one-to-one chats once
they upgraded to the latest version of WeChat, although it would continue to
follow principles such as preventing excessive marketing.
The plan will be carried out based on legal requirements and
with the approval of regulatory authorities, it added.
"At the same time, WeChat will also actively cooperate
with other Internet platforms to implement this guidance and explore the
technical possibilities of using WeChat services on other platforms, to achieve
further interconnectivity." -Reuters
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