WASHINGTON – The US State Department expressed worry on Wednesday about allegations that China had limited the use of LGBTQI+ student groups and non-governmental organizations’ social media accounts. Members of LGBT organizations told Reuters that Tencent’s WeChat social media platform had banned dozens of LGBT profiles established by university students, claiming that some had violated internet information guidelines, raising fears of a crackdown on gay content online.
The reports have been brought to the attention of the State Department, according to spokesperson Ned Price. “We’re worried that (China) has restricted the social media accounts of LGBTQI+ student groups and NGOs that were simply expressing their opinions, exercising their right to freedom of expression and freedom of speech,” he said at a routine news briefing. (David Brunnstrom, Humeyra Pamuk, and Daphne Psaledakis contributed reporting; Leslie Adler edited the piece.)
Reuters is the source of this information./n
