The social media account of a popular e-commerce website was blocked by China authorities Monday.
The account of Xiaohongshu - or "Little Red Book" - was blocked from the internet in China after it published a post that referred to the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Xiaohongshu published a post late last week on the country's Weibo short messaging service. The company asked customers what day it was. It later took down the post a few hours later.
"Tell me loud: what's the date?" the company said in its post.
By early Monday, Xiaohongshu's Weibo account was no longer searchable. However, its app was functional and its operations had not ceased. When attempting to search for the company's Weibo page, users were met with a notice informing them that the page has been taken down as a result of complaints and violations of laws and relevant provisions under the Weibo community convention.
Xiaohongshu's Weibo account has around 14 million followers while its app has an estimated 300 million active users. Weibo posted a notice stating that Xiaohongshu was currently being investigated for violating its laws and regulations. Xiaohongshu hasn't issued a formal statement.
Xiaohongshu, which is backed by both Alibaba and Tencent, has been described as China's Instagram with an e-commerce feature. The platform is most popular with young, urban women. Its name is derived from the famous book of quotations made by Mao Zedong.
Experts said Xiaohongshu frequently posted questions on its social media page as a way of interacting with its fans and user base. However, analysts believe the post it made last week may have caught the attention of China internet authorities. The anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown against prodemocracy activists is a highly sensitive date in China.
Mentions of the date or the event on China platforms are regulated and people have lost their accounts in the past. The Cyberspace Administration of China, the nation's internet regulator, is the main body responsible for tracking down and removing such posts. The agency hasn't made a statement.
