A 2020 overview of social media and tech rivalries in China

Alex Duncan, Kawo

It can be hard to get one's head around the complexity, depth and breadth of China’s social media landscape, with many in the West unfamiliar with sites beyond the omnipotent all-in-one super app, WeChat.
  • In this overview, LinkedIn is listed as the only major Western social network that has managed to remain available in Mainland China by strictly complying with Chinese internet regulations and maintaining servers in China, but doesn’t allow viewing or uploading of video content because it doesn’t have the requisite licenses.
  • By not being beholden to advertisers and being less reliant on digital ad revenue, WeChat has avoided the privacy controversy that has plagued Western social platforms like Facebook.
  • Tech rivalries in China impact brands; for instance WeChat owned by Tencent does not allow links to Taobao or Tmall owned by...

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