{"id":59065,"date":"2023-09-09T22:02:30","date_gmt":"2023-09-10T02:02:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/markets\/crypto\/chinas-weibo-purges-crypto-content-bans-users\/"},"modified":"2023-09-09T22:02:34","modified_gmt":"2023-09-10T02:02:34","slug":"chinas-weibo-purges-crypto-content-bans-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=59065","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s Weibo Purges Crypto Content, Bans Users"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Chinese social media titan Weibo has deleted 80 popular crypto-related accounts and removed \u201c17,000 illegal profit-making-related posts\u201d from its platform.<\/p>\n

The firm\u2019s operator Sina says Weibo has some 258 million daily active users.<\/p>\n

It thrives in a nation where popular international social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Instagram have been blocked.<\/p>\n

But while crypto trading is de facto banned in China, a few popular Chinese-language Weibo accounts have continued to post crypto-related content.<\/p>\n

Cryptonews.com<\/i> has seen evidence that some (albeit less popular) Weibo accounts are still posting crypto-related content at the time of writing.<\/p>\n

Token trading remains popular in China, once the crypto mining and trading center of the world.<\/p>\n

But most Chinese traders have been forced into OTC markets.<\/p>\n

Banks were ordered to block all crypto exchange-linked transactions last year.<\/p>\n

This followed a 2021 announcement along similar lines from the biggest commercial banks in China.<\/p>\n

The 80 accounts had over 8 million followers each, a testimony to crypto\u2019s enduring popularity among Chinese language speakers.<\/p>\n

When Cryptonews.com<\/i> attempted to access some of the Weibo accounts in question, the platform displayed messages that read:<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis account is no longer viewable due to complaints that it violated laws, regulations, and relevant sections of the Weibo Community Convention.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The same users\u2019 X (Twitter) and Telegram accounts mostly appear to be operating as usual.<\/p>\n

Per an official Sina-Weibo statement, the accounts had violated T&C clauses related to marketing, internet safety, telecommunications, and trade.<\/p>\n

Just over a year ago the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the nation\u2019s internet regulator, banned the \u201cmarketing\u201d of crypto-related products and services.<\/p>\n

The CAC directly ordered Weibo, the search engine Baidu, and other Chinese portals to remove 12,000 crypto-linked accounts, as well as some 51,000 social media posts.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s Weibo Crypto Purge: Part of a Wider Crackdown?<\/h2>\n

On X (Twitter), the user and broadcaster Moonlight<\/a> remarked:<\/p>\n

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\u201cSome people say that as long as your [Weibo] account is not too big, it will not be blocked. But if your account is blocked after it has amassed a certain number of followers, won\u2019t all your efforts have been in vain?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Other Chinese-language crypto-related X accounts posted a list of the now-banned users.<\/p>\n

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It appears crypto was not the only target of the Weibo crackdown.<\/p>\n

The social media firm said that it had banned, deleted, suspended, warned, or sanctioned around 140,000 accounts it suspected of spreading \u201cfake news\u201d or \u201charmful information.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other accounts were suspended for violating Weibo\u2019s advertising regulations.<\/p>\n

The firm also said that \u201cmore than 7,000\u201d posts based on \u201crumors\u201d had been taken off the platform, along with 135 \u201crumor-mongering accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n