'China to Cleanse Online Content That ‘Bad-Mouths’ Its Economy'

Bloomberg [c]:

China kicked off a two-month campaign to crack down on commercial platforms and social media accounts that post finance-related information that’s deemed harmful to its economy.

The initiative will focus on rectifying violations including those that “maliciously” bad-mouth China’s financial markets and falsely interpret domestic policies and economic data, the Cyberspace Administration of China said in a statement late Friday. Those who republish foreign media reports or commentaries that falsely interpret domestic financial topics “without taking a stance or making a judgment” will also be targeted, it added.

The move is aimed at cultivating a “benign” online environment for public opinion that can facilitate “sustainable and healthy development” of China’s economy and its society, according to the statement. It followed a draft proposal issued earlier Friday by the cyberspace regulator to regulate algorithms that technology firms use to recommend videos and other content.

One of the reasons I’m keen on direct indexing becoming more mainstream is so I can take countries like China out of my pension investment portfolio. I do want the diversification of a ‘world index tracker’, but it would be nice to take dodgy countries like China out of the pot.

And it probably wouldn’t even cost me anything. I mean that’s half of the reason I want to take it out! Sure, morally I disagree with China. But I also think they simply won’t perform in the long run.

They haven’t done especially well over the past 10 years:

Oh and in other China news, ‘China Slashes Kids’ Gaming Time to Just Three Hours a Week’ [c]:

Gaming platforms from Tencent Holdings Ltd. to NetEase Inc. can henceforth only offer online gaming to minors from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, weekends and public holidays, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing a notice by the National Press and Publication Administration. The new rules, which limit teen playing time to three hours most weeks of the year, is a major step-up from a previous restriction set in 2019 of 1.5 hours per day, most days.

Read this next: 'The Mormon Church Amassed $100 Billion. It Was the Best-Kept Secret in the Investment World.’