Lyra Martin Tech 08.01.2022 04:Aug AM EDT

China's Cybersecurity Agency Says its Increasing Regulations Improved its Internet Management

The Cybersecurity Administration of China (CAC) summoned more than 3,400, fined 283, and banned 177 apps from local app stores for infringing its internet management rules and regulations.

Chinese Cybersecurity Watchdog has Punished 283 Platforms

China's cyberspace watchdog said that in the first half of this year, it had significant accomplishments in controlling internet platforms and "continued to increase online law enforcement."

According to a report posted on the watchdog's official WeChat account on Sunday, the CAC summoned more than 3,400 platforms during the first half of 2022, of which 283 were punished and banned 177 applications from local app stores for breaking laws and regulations.

The CAC article also said regulators had held talks with representatives of Chinese microblogging platform Weibo and Tencent Holdings' multipurpose super app WeChat over "illegal" content appearing on their platforms.

The leading internet search company Baidu and Microsoft's own Bing service have also received criticism from the authorities for related issues. The Chinese government ordered Microsoft to temporarily halt the auto-suggest function in its Bing search engine in December of last year.

Platforms for e-commerce have not avoided examination. As some of the online shops on these platforms had "material that violates law and regulations," regulators negotiated with five outlets, including Tencent's WeChat Store, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Taobao Marketplace, and JD.com.

The headquarters of famous social media site Douban, renowned as a refuge for generally liberal online conversation, were visited by a special task team, according to China's internet censorship authority, in March to address "severe online disorder."

China and Russia are Hurting the Profit of Tech Giants Like Microsoft

The happenings in another country are hurting Microsoft's company. The IT giant blamed China's and Russia's events, such as the former's prolonged Covid lockdowns and the latter's conflict against Ukraine, for lower-than-expected results on July 26.

Microsoft reported $51.9 billion in sales and $16.7 billion in profit, up 12 and 2 percent from the same time last year, respectively, but less than analysts' expectations polled by Refinitiv.

The business noted in its results that "extended production shutdowns in China" cost it $300 million. It also said that it spent $126 million "substantially scaling down" its activities in Russia as a consequence of the conflict in Ukraine.

However, there were also more general problems. Along with Microsoft's search and news businesses, LinkedIn's employment platform also suffered from a decrease in advertising spending, which caused a revenue fall of over $100 million.

Microsoft said it attempted "a strategic restructuring" of its operations amid a general decline in the computer sector, spending $113 million on employee severance (excluding Russia). In after-hours trading, Microsoft shares fell by almost 1%.

However, there were some positive aspects, most notably Microsoft's cloud business. In comparison to the same quarter last year, the company's cloud revenue for the quarter increased by 28% to $25 billion.

In a statement, Microsoft's senior vice president and chief financial officer, Amy Hood, stated that the company witnessed strong demand, gained market share, and increased customer commitment to its cloud platform in a competitive market. In the opinion of Haris Anwar, a senior analyst at Investing.com, the growth in cloud computing demonstrates Microsoft's tenacity.

The results reflect the severe economic circumstances impacting practically every major IT company, he added. He said Microsoft would profit from the great cloud performance, which shows that both big and small enterprises continue to invest in IT infrastructure, even if the economy dips.