tech Alibaba profit slumps nearly 60% as tech crackdown, Covid bite Christin Hakim, May 30, 2022 An Alibaba sign is seen outside the company’s offices in Beijing. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said Thursday its profit fell 59 percent in the last fiscal year, joining other tech firms that reported lacklustre results while grappling with COVID-19 restrictions and a sector crackdown. China’s economy has been battered by… Continue Reading
tech China signals easing of tech crackdown but don’t expect policy U-turn Christin Hakim, May 19, 2022 China has shown signs of easing its crackdown on the technology sector which has wiped billions of dollars of value from its most prominent companies. But analysts said Beijing’s recent positive rhetoric should not be mistaken for a reversal of policy. “I think the big tech companies will have a… Continue Reading
Entertainment Ultraman Tiga ban: Cartoons and children’s shows are on the chopping block in China’s entertainment crackdown Christin Hakim, September 29, 2021 The National Radio and Television Administration, the country’s broadcasting authority, announced late Friday that it would ban cartoons and other TV shows primarily produced for children that contain any mention of violence, blood, vulgarity or pornography. TV channels must “resolutely resist bad plots,” and instead only broadcast “excellent cartoons with… Continue Reading
tech Big Tech grapples with Russian internet crackdown during election Christin Hakim, September 24, 2021 The Russian government is increasingly pressuring American technology companies to take down content from their platforms with threats of fines, throttling and criminal prosecution for local staff ahead of this weekend’s parliamentary election. The breadth of the censorship demands, backed by recently-passed laws targeting content deemed to be illegal, are… Continue Reading