China's MIIT Praises App Stores, Cites Customer Service Failures at Some Companies

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has issued its report on telecom service quality for the second quarter of 2026. The report highlighted the performance of major app stores, with vivo App Store, Xiaomi App Store, OPPO App Store, and Tencent's Yingyongbao ranking highly for their compliance rates. Conversely, the report identified significant issues with customer service accessibility for several prominent internet companies.

The MIIT's report also detailed progress in the "Digital Aging in China" initiative, aimed at improving digital accessibility for the elderly and disabled. Over 3,161 websites and applications have undergone accessibility upgrades. Basic telecommunication enterprises' "one-click human customer service" hotlines have handled over 750 million calls, and the "second number renewal" service, which aids users in managing app number binding, now covers 258 common internet applications, serving over 14.35 million users.

However, the report pointed to notable shortcomings in customer service responsiveness. Third-party tests found that human customer service phone lines for Baidu, Weibo, DingTalk, Youku Video, T3 Mobility, and TuYou Doudizhu were unreachable. MIIT has urged these companies to enhance their response capabilities. User satisfaction was also reported as low for cloud storage and information dissemination services.

In app technical reviews, 983 applications were ordered for rectification, and 122 were publicly disclosed for violations. MIIT has also intensified efforts to combat intrusive marketing calls and messages, leading to the shutdown of over 1,000 illegal voice lines and 762 SMS ports. The "Do Not Disturb" service for incoming calls and messages has provided protection to over 1.38 billion users against marketing communications.