Karaoke app penalized for pornographic content

An online karaoke app owned by China's Internet giant Tencent has been penalized for failing to properly deal with pornographic and vulgar contents on the platform, especially in its adolescent mode.

Some songs, videos and live-streaming programs in the app WeSing were found to have obvious sexual innuendo and obscenity, and the app's adolescent mode also allows access to such content for the young users, the National Office for the Fight Against Pornography and Illegal Publications said Monday in a statement.

In a regulatory talk with Tencent, local authority tasked with fighting pornography and illegal publications in Guangdong as well as the province's cyberspace administration have asked the company to carry out an overhaul regarding relevant violations on the platform, the statement added.

Besides, the app's operator, Shenzhen-based Tencent Music Entertainment, was fined and had its illegal gains confiscated by the city's cultural authority.

Tencent is now working to fix the problems and punish responsible personnel, cleaning up relevant content and banning violators' accounts, the statement said.

The latest move is part of China's crackdown on online pornography and illegal publications, which also punishes Internet enterprises that have failed to exercise due supervision.