Beijing, Feb 7, 2026, 03:24 GMT+8
- Beijing cyberspace authorities slapped Kuaishou with a 119.1 million yuan fine and issued a warning for pornographic and vulgar livestream content
- The penalty comes after a Dec. 22 cyberattack that exposed users to explicit and violent streams
- This move ramps up pressure following last month’s fine targeting Kuaishou’s live-commerce unit
China’s cyberspace regulator slapped Kuaishou Technology with a 119.1 million yuan ($17.2 million) fine on Friday, citing the short-video giant’s failure to control pornographic and vulgar livestream content. Kuaishou competes directly with ByteDance’s Douyin, China’s version of TikTok. (Reuters)
The case is significant because Beijing links content control directly to cybersecurity responsibilities, not merely moral oversight. Platforms hosting live video—and the live selling that often accompanies it—must quickly identify banned content and close security gaps before hackers take advantage, according to the Beijing cyberspace administration. (China Daily)
Kuaishou’s troubles with compliance extend beyond livestreaming. On Jan. 30, China’s market regulator slapped its e-commerce arm, Kuaigou, with a 26.7 million yuan fine for multiple “illegal acts,” including the imposition of “unreasonable” fees. (Reuters)
The most recent penalty came after what Caixin called a major failure on the night of Dec. 22, 2025, when several livestreams were interrupted by obscene content. Kuaishou responded by temporarily shutting down its livestreaming platform. (Caixinglobal)
Beijing’s internet watchdog criticized Kuaishou for not acting swiftly enough to block illegal content, Bloomberg News reported. The incident underscores how security flaws on major video platforms can rapidly become public issues. (Bloomberg)
The regulator found that the platform failed to meet cybersecurity requirements, neglected timely fixes for system vulnerabilities, and did not stop the spread of illegal content, the South China Morning Post reports. Officials labeled the violations “severe,” demanding Kuaishou patch the issues by a set deadline and hold accountable the staff responsible. (South China Morning Post)
Kuaishou issued an apology and promised to accept the penalty and “rectify resolutely,” according to a statement reported by the state-backed Global Times. The company acknowledged that shortcomings in technical management and emergency response led to a surge of prohibited content, expressing “deep remorse.” (Global Times)
Kuaishou admitted its response to the attack was sluggish, which let pornographic and vulgar content accumulate on the platform, according to its statement.
Kuaishou faces a bigger threat from live systems being quickly overwhelmed, with damage to its reputation often preceding any fixes. On Dec. 23, the company’s shares dropped nearly 6% after local media reported a cyberattack that caused a spike in explicit content, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
The company has faced content-related scrutiny before. In September, China’s top internet regulator issued warnings to Kuaishou and Weibo for lapses in content management, demanding fixes within a specified deadline. (Reuters)
