 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Beijing (AFP) Nov 22, 2010 Two of China's leading Internet firms have been forced by the government to issue public apologies over a nasty spat marked by accusations of unfair market practices and privacy infringement. Tencent, parent company of the popular instant messaging service QQ, and security software developer Qihoo 360 issued the apologies late Sunday after being ordered to do so by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The public feud began in September when Tencent encouraged users to download its upgraded security software. Qihoo 360 subsequently accused QQ of trying to scan its users' personal data and it issued tools to block QQ components. Tencent earlier this month announced that QQ would no longer function on computers using Qihoo 360 products, while Qihoo 360 in turn took similar moves. The row triggered harsh criticism from web users in China, which has the world's largest online population, with at least 420 million people using the Internet. In a statement on its website, Qihoo 360 said "we hearby apologise to society and netizens and will stop the mutual attacks between the companies." The ministry had earlier on Sunday told the companies to "publicly apologise to society," saying in a statement the feud had "sparked user discontent and caused vile social influences." "We hereby sincerely apologise to all the users that have been troubled by this incident," Tencent said in its statement. Tencent claims QQ has more than 600 million active user accounts, while Qihoo 360 boasts more than 300 million, Chinese media have reported. The ministry statement had said the two firms must "stop attacking each other" and ensure that their software is compatible. Authorities will investigate whether either company violated any laws amid the dispute, it added. "The two companies should learn lessons from this incident... strengthen professional ethics, strictly regulate their practices and make sure similar incidents never happen again," the statement said.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Satellite-based Internet technologies
Social media 'one part' of Google strategy: CFOSydney (AFP) Nov 21, 2010 Internet giant Google on Sunday said social media was "absolutely" part of its strategy and would be embedded in "many of our products" but played down its rivalry with networking icon Facebook. Chief financial officer Patrick Pichette said Google was at the centre of an exploding digital economy where computer power was "relentlessly, dramatically increasing" and innovation was crucial to ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
