Tencent and Other Companies Block App Publishers From Releasing New Apps

Mobile app stores in China run by Tencent Holdings, Xiaomi and others have begun blocking app publishers from releasing new apps if they don’t provide all the information required by authorities, Reuters documents showed.

The stores will comply with new rules introduced last month as Beijing tightens controls on mobile apps in the country. The rules are causing confusion in the industry that publishing apps in the world’s second largest economy will be very difficult and many apps may have to be removed.

New rules requiring mobile app publishers to report company information to the government gave China’s app stores until the end of August to set up their filing systems to monitor new apps.

“The Android app stores have confirmed that new apps will require app notification from Friday and existing apps will need to have it from March 31,” Rich Bishop, CEO of AppInChina, said.

“It forces all the global apps in these app stores to either set up a local entity or work with a local partner.”

The new rules show that while authorities appear to have ended a years-long, sweeping regulatory crackdown on China’s tech sector, it remains under scrutiny as Beijing seeks to keep business tied to its socialist ideals.

Last week, Android-based app stores operated by Tencent, Huawei Technologies, Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo notified app publishers and announced that they would ban new apps from being introduced on their platforms without sufficient paperwork. Some of the announcements were seen by Reuters, while others were featured in blog posts from Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo.

Apple has not disclosed how its app store in China will comply with Beijing’s new rules. As of Monday, it has yet to check the apps’ filing status, AppInChina said, citing its own checks.

Apple did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MEIT) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tencent, Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tencent’s WeChat, China’s most popular social media platform, also notified app publishers that the same filing requirement will apply to so-called “WeChat Mini Apps,” which refer directly to apps published on WeChat.

According to Huawei’s announcement, MIIT has established its own working group to monitor the implementation of the new policy. It has negotiated with industry players about the new policy.

The announcement also stated that app stores must clearly mark the archiving status of each application on their platforms.