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Tencent files defamation lawsuit against Bytedance, company sues back

China's Tencent Holdings Ltd. has announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Beijing-based Bytedance, the maker of news app Jinri Toutiao and short-video app Douyin, for defamation, Reuters reported, citing a Wechat International Pte. Ltd. post. Bytedance reportedly responded by filing lawsuits against Tencent for blocking its content.

Tencent said it is taking the company to a Beijing court for allegedly defaming it with negative news and damaging its reputation repeatedly over the last month. Further, the Chinese social media giant said that Toutiao had altered, unfavorably, the headline of its state media report and its sources in a push alert published May 30.

As a result, Tencent said it is halting all partnerships with Bytedance and its affiliated company as their behavior "constituted unfair competition and infringed [Tencent's] rights," Reuters said. The internet giant also demanded one yuan in compensation and public apologies on Toutiao's social media platforms.

On the same day Tencent announced its lawsuits, Bytedance filed two lawsuits against Tencent for blocking its content, allegedly resulting in unfair competition, the Financial Times reported June 1.

"We believe that these actions are an attempt by [Tencent] to eliminate competition in the market through abusing [their] leading position," Bytedance reportedly said.

The announcements are the latest in an ongoing battle between the two companies. Last month, Toutiao's Douyin sued Tencent for spreading false and damaging information on its WeChat platform, seeking 1 million yuan in compensation as well as an apology, Reuters had reported.

The dispute between Tencent and Bytedance was in the spotlight again when its two CEOs were caught bickering over accusations of blocking and plagiarism on social media, according to a May 9 South China Morning Post report.

Meanwhile, a Tencent spokesperson confirmed April 13 to the South China Morning Post that it has blocked videos from Weishi, Kuaishou, Xigua and Bytedance's Douyin from WeChat and QQ for distributing inappropriate content, amid an intensifying crackdown on online content in China.

As of June 1, US$1 was equivalent to 6.42 Chinese yuan.