China has ordered Microsoft Search engine Bing to suspend its auto-suggest feature in the country for seven days. The tech giant said that a ‘relevant government agency’ had ordered that it suspend the function.
Internet users in China spotted the suspension on Friday after Bing posted on its website. Microsoft has neither commented nor revealed the reasons behind the suspension.
“Bing is a global search platform and remains committed to respecting the rule of law and users’ right to access information,” Bing said on its Chinese search site.
Read: China Bans BBC World News in Retaliation for Britain Revoking CGTN License
This is the second time China is imposing a similar suspension since December 2021. The move comes amid an ongoing crackdown of algorithms and technology platforms in Beijing.
Over the last year, Chinese internet companies have been slammed by a regulatory crackdown that has imposed new restrictions on everything from content to user privacy.
Beijing’s top cyber regulator published proposed rules in August governing how and when internet platforms can utilize algorithms.
This month, a finalized version of the rules went into effect.
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