China continues to tighten the rules on its domestic tech sector, saying $Tencent (TCEHY.US)$ $TENCENT (00700.HK)$ must get approval from regulators to send out updates for its apps. The process could take up to seven days, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The new ruling comes after China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology found that several of Tencent's apps violated data protection rules, resulting in China's most valuable technology company having to submit new apps before they can be launched.
"We are continuously working to enhance user protection features within our apps, and also have regular cooperation with relevant government agencies to ensure regulatory compliance," Tencent said in a statement. "Our apps remain functional and available for download." Alibaba, Baidu other companies fined by Chinese antitrust regulator.
Meanwhile, some state-run companies, like $China Mobile (CHL.US)$ and $CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK (CICHF.US)$, are restricting employees' use of Weixin, Tencent's popular domestic messaging app. Security concerns were flagged by the firms, which said any chat groups set up for work purposes could contain sensitive information and should be closed down and deleted.