Reuters: ByteDance's Censorship on Indonesian News App Requested Removal of Unfavourable Anti-China Content
Reuters quoted six insiders saying, ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, censored content that was critical of the Chinese government on a popular Indonesian news app "Baca Berita" (BaBe) from 2018 to mid-2020. Keywords including Tienanmen and President Mao were on the banned list.
Quoting various sources, the team at ByteDance's Beijing Headquarter instructed local Indonesian moderators to remove all negative articles related to the CCP on BaBe. Previously Indonesia had banned TikTok briefly for displaying "pornography, inappropriate content and profanity". As ByteDance wanted to lift the ban, they compromised with the government to employ a local TikTok team and strengthened the company's influence in Indonesia. ByteDance acquired Baca Berita shortly after.
Insiders revealed, after the acquisition, ByteDance's Beijing Headquarter created new moderation guidelines for BaBe. Contents perceived as critical of China were prohibited from publishing or they would be removed from the platform. A person directly involved said all articles containing sensitive words, such as Tienanmen and President Mao, had to be taken down. Another direct source said ByteDance also censored an article relating to the South China Sea tension from Antara, an Indonesia official news agency.
Source: Apply Daily #Aug16
#ByteDance #TikTok #Indonesia #China #Babe #BacaBerita #SouthChinaSea #CleanNetwork
https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20200815/ZYTBAIXV2VCDZHXUNQPOQGSGEY/
Reuters quoted six insiders saying, ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, censored content that was critical of the Chinese government on a popular Indonesian news app "Baca Berita" (BaBe) from 2018 to mid-2020. Keywords including Tienanmen and President Mao were on the banned list.
Quoting various sources, the team at ByteDance's Beijing Headquarter instructed local Indonesian moderators to remove all negative articles related to the CCP on BaBe. Previously Indonesia had banned TikTok briefly for displaying "pornography, inappropriate content and profanity". As ByteDance wanted to lift the ban, they compromised with the government to employ a local TikTok team and strengthened the company's influence in Indonesia. ByteDance acquired Baca Berita shortly after.
Insiders revealed, after the acquisition, ByteDance's Beijing Headquarter created new moderation guidelines for BaBe. Contents perceived as critical of China were prohibited from publishing or they would be removed from the platform. A person directly involved said all articles containing sensitive words, such as Tienanmen and President Mao, had to be taken down. Another direct source said ByteDance also censored an article relating to the South China Sea tension from Antara, an Indonesia official news agency.
Source: Apply Daily #Aug16
#ByteDance #TikTok #Indonesia #China #Babe #BacaBerita #SouthChinaSea #CleanNetwork
https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20200815/ZYTBAIXV2VCDZHXUNQPOQGSGEY/