China govt targets mobile pop-ups in latest crackdown on tech sector

Pop-ups, often used for advertising, are just the latest targets in a series of government crackdowns that have ranged from antitrust to data security

China ordered Tencent Holdings and 13 other developers to rectify problems related to pop-ups within their apps, adding to a wide-ranging crackdown on the tech sector.

The companies must address the “harassing” pop-up windows, which could contain misleading information or divert users away from the apps, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Wednesday. The 14 services, including an e-books app by Tencent’s QQ will have to fix the problems by Aug. 3.

“Failure to abide by regulations” will not be tolerated and will be “penalised” accordingly, said the ministry.

Pop-ups, often used for advertising, are just the latest targets in