Messaging apps blocked in fight against terrorism

Chinese authorities say they have blocked messaging apps KakaoTalk and Line as part of efforts to fight terrorism, South Korea said yesterday, the first official explanation of service disruptions that began a month ago.

South Korea’s Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said China confirmed it had blocked “some foreign messaging applications through which terrorism-related information” was circulating. The others are Didi, Talk Box and Vower.

The ministry said it will continue negotiations with relevant Chinese counterparts to ensure service disruptions and inconvenience are resolved.

A spokeswoman at Kakao Corp, South Korean-based operator of KakaoTalk, said disruptions continued but declined to comment further. A spokesman for South Korea’s Naver Corp, parent of the Japanese-based subsidiary that operates Line, said it had been notified of the blockage but declined further comment.

China told South Korea that terrorist organizations were plotting or inciting attacks through mobile messaging apps and video websites, the South Korean ministry said.