bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Iris Deng

China’s internet watchdog has fined Kuaishou Technology 119.1 million yuan (US$17 million) for hosting explicit live-streaming content, just days after the operator of the country’s second-largest short-video platform was penalised over e-commerce violations.
Beijing’s Cyberspace Administration launched an investigation following reports of a surge in pornographic and vulgar streams.
The probe found the platform had failed to meet its cybersecurity obligations, fix system vulnerabilities in time, and stop the spread of illegal content, the regulator said on Friday.
Authorities described the breaches as “severe” and said they had caused a significant negative social impact.
Alongside the fine, regulators issued a warning, ordered Kuaishou to complete rectifications by a set deadline and required the company to hold responsible staff accountable.
Kuaishou said it would “accept [the decision] sincerely and rectify resolutely” in an apology issued after the penalty.
The punishment follows a major cyberattack in December, when Kuaishou’s live-streaming platform was flooded by explicit content in high-traffic rooms for more than an hour.
On December 22, recommended feeds were inundated with such material from about 10pm, before the company began mass deletions and shut live-streaming channels around 11.30pm.
The company reported the incident to police at the time, blaming “black and grey industries” – an underground ecosystem of illegal and legally ambiguous activities – for the attack.
In Friday’s statement, Kuaishou called the episode “an extremely bitter lesson” and apologised for delays in its emergency response, which it attributed to technical management shortcomings.
It added that it had since conducted a comprehensive review of risks and its security infrastructure.
Kuaishou’s average daily active users (DAUs) reached 416 million in the third quarter, making it China’s second-largest short-video platform after ByteDance’s Douyin, which has more than 600 million DAUs.
The latest penalty came days after the State Administration for Market Regulation fined Kuaishou 26 million yuan over multiple violations in its live-streaming e-commerce business, including failures in information disclosure, unreasonable fees charged to merchants and inadequate consumer protection.


Watchdog slaps China’s Kuaishou with US$17 million fine after explicit content probe

China’s Meituan snaps up Dingdong to deepen push into fresh grocery retail

China raises taxes on some sectors to boost finances: a one-off fix or tough times ahead?

China’s gold trading hub rattled as second platform faces payment crisis

China’s private sector

Beijing’s Cyberspace Administration launched an investigation following reports of a surge in pornographic streams Photo: Shutterstock

China slaps US$3.7 million fine on Kuaishou over live-streaming e-commerce violation

Chinese regulators are tightening oversight on live-streaming e-commerce platform operators such as Kuaishou Technology.
Photo: Shutterstock

The facade of Kuaishou Technology’s headquarters in Beijing Photo: Getty Images

AI video generation: How China’s Kling challenges Google’s Veo, OpenAI’s Sora

Kling’s motion control feature, which easily lets puppies or any characters dance, fuelled viral trends. Photo: Handout

Zeng Yushen, Kling’s head of operations, speaks at a conference in November 2025. Photo: Handout

China’s Kuaishou to raise US$2 billion from maiden overseas bond sale

People visit a Kuaishou stand at an expo in Shanghai, China. Photo: Getty Images

Kuaishou is China’s second largest short-video platform. Photo: Shutterstock

Video-generation boom sees China’s Kling AI post US$240 million in annual revenue run rate

Kling AI adoption has expanded amid the growing  use worldwide of artificial intelligence video tools. Photo: Shutterstock 

At an event in Beijing last April, Kuaishou unveiled Kling AI 2.0, the latest version of its generative AI video service. Photo: Ben Jiang

Business

Tech

The fine comes days after a separate e-commerce penalty, adding pressure on China’s No 2 short-video platform to tighten controls


The fine comes days after a separate e-commerce penalty, adding pressure on China’s No 2 short-video platform to tighten controls.


Watchdog slaps China’s Kuaishou with US$17 million fine after explicit content probe

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The fine comes days after a separate e-commerce penalty, adding pressure on China’s No 2 short-video platform to tighten controls

The fine comes days after a separate e-commerce penalty, adding pressure on China’s No 2 short-video platform to tighten controls