China’s popular short-video and livestreaming platform Kuaishou suffered a major cyberattack late in December, briefly flooding its service with explicit and prohibited content and disrupting livestreaming features. The incident drew widespread attention in China, where online platforms are subject to strict content controls. The attack began late at night when numerous livestreams were suddenly taken over by pornographic and violent material, overwhelming the platform’s moderation systems. Users reported that their feeds were dominated by inappropriate content, sparking outrage and confusion.

Kuaishou said it immediately activated its emergency response mechanism, temporarily shutting down live broadcasting services while engineers worked to contain the breach. The company said other parts of the app remained unaffected and that livestreaming was gradually restored after about 90 minutes. In an official statement, Kuaishou blamed the incident on what it described as “underground and grey industries,” a term commonly used in China to refer to organised illegal online networks. The company said it had reported the matter to police and regulatory authorities and vowed to pursue legal action against those responsible.

The cyberattack also affected investor sentiment, with Kuaishou’s share price falling in the aftermath of the breach. Analysts said the incident raised concerns about the resilience of automated content moderation systems, particularly as platforms increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to monitor vast volumes of user-generated content.

Cybersecurity experts noted that the scale of the disruption highlighted vulnerabilities that can be exploited by coordinated attacks, even on large and heavily regulated platforms. The breach has renewed debate in China over digital security, platform accountability and the protection of users, especially minors. The Kuaishou incident comes amid growing global concerns over cyber threats targeting major technology companies, underlining the challenges social media platforms face in safeguarding their systems against increasingly sophisticated attacks.