ByteDance developing Clubhouse-like app for China amid copycat rush - sources

Inkeverse

04/03/2021 07:00

By Yingzhi Yang, Pei Li and Brenda Goh
    March 4 (Reuters) - TikTok owner ByteDance is working on a
Clubhouse-like app for China, sources familiar with the matter
said, as the global success of the U.S.-based audio chat service
inspires a rush of copycats in the country.
    At least a dozen similar apps have been launched in the past
month, with momentum picking up after Clubhouse was blocked in
China in early February. Clubhouse had seen a surge in users who
participated in discussions on sensitive topics such as Xinjiang
detention camps and Hong Kong independence.
    New offerings include Xiaomi Corp's  1810.HK  reworking of
its Mi Talk app into an invitation-only audio service targeted
at professionals last week. More are currently under
development, industry executives say. 
    ByteDance's plans are still in the early stages, said two
sources who were not authorised to speak to media and declined
to be identified. 
    Discussions about TikTok and ByteDance on Clubhouse had
prompted interest in the genre from ByteDance executives
including CEO Zhang Yiming, said one of the sources.
    ByteDance declined to comment.
    The success of Clubhouse, which can host up to 8,000 people
per chat room and has seen a discussion between Tesla Inc
 TSLA.O  Chief Executive Elon Musk and Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev
boost user numbers, has rammed home the potential of audio chat
services. 
    But similar apps in China are expected to take on Chinese
characteristics that will accommodate censorship and government
oversight.
    One such example is Nasdaq-listed Lizhi Inc's  LIZI.O  
Zhiya app which was launched in 2013 and whose users usually
talk about video games or sing songs.
    The app requires real name registration, a trait Lizhi CEO
Marco Lai says is key in China. The company also employs staff
to listen to conversations in every room and deploys artificial
intelligence tools to weed out "unwanted" content, such as
pornography or politically sensitive issues.
    The app was briefly taken down by Chinese regulators in
2019, but reinstated after Lizhi made rectifications. 
    Lizhi's Lai said that outside of politics there was plenty
of room for audio chat apps in China.
    "Adults in China do not like to express their views in
public, we have been taught to keep a low profile since we were
young," he said. "A good approach in China, though, is
entertainment, you invite everybody to have fun."  
    Some new entrants to the market have had hiccups.
    Inke Ltd  3700.HK , best known for its livestreaming
platform, launched a similar app, Duihuaba, this month that
recruited venture capitalists, fashion critics and other
celebrities to host conversations.
    However, it abruptly pulled the app two weeks after its
debut, saying that it needed further improvements without
elaborating.

 (Reporting by Yingzhi Yang, Pei Li and Brenda Goh; Additional
Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
 ((Pei.Li@thomsonreuters.com; +852 64325868;))