The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) deleted 9,300 smartphone apps and 700 websites since 3 January, as part of a crackdown on content deemed inappropriate or harmful, media outlets reported.

Tencent’s news app Tian Tian Kuai Bao was singled out for spreading “vulgar and lowbrow content that was harmful and damaging to the internet ecosystem”. The agency asked all companies involved to overhaul their operations, without giving further detail.

The move comes a few weeks after internet companies Baidu and Sohu were asked to suspend their news services.

China’s government seems to have it in for Tencent: while authorities have re-started approving online video games after a nine-month moratorium, Tencent titles have repeatedly been left out.

The crackdown is part of a wider strategy: in November CAC removed nearly 10,000 social media accounts held by non-official news providers as part of a censorship campaign.