Taiwan to block mainland apps on campus networks

TAIPEI, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan's education authorities on Friday announced a ban on access to several mainland apps, including Douyin and Weibo, on the island's campus networks.

This will restrict access from academic networks and school Wi-Fi to Rednote, Weibo, WeChat, Douyin (the mainland version of TikTok), and cloud service app Baidu Netdisk, according to the authorities.

The move comes after these apps were placed on a "high-risk" list by the island's digital affairs authorities to "prevent children and adolescents from exposure to age-inappropriate content" and to address "possible cybersecurity risks."

The island's education authorities also warned that primary and secondary schools should not use these apps in teaching activities.

A mainland spokesperson on Wednesday criticized Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authorities for hyping up the so-called information security risks of mainland apps, noting that these measures have deprived people on the island of the freedom to use social networking platforms.