Two of China’s most prominent tech companies are engaging in a courtroom battle over a blog post published on messaging platform WeChat, illustrating the growing competition between giant Tencent and Douyin, the short-video service.
The latest clash, which follows disputes between the groups over alleged copyright and intellectual property breaches, concerns videos of adults engaging in dangerous activities with children. It comes against a backdrop of increasing scrutiny over what constitutes acceptable content on online platforms.
In its lawsuit, filed at a Beijing court on Thursday and first reported by Chinese media, Douyin said that a blogger distributed an essay on Tencent-owned WeChat entitled “Douyin, leave the children alone”. Tencent has since deleted the post on the messaging platform but it is still available online.