Sohu.com Messaging Service Suspended by China Mobile

[Woz]

In this Forbes article [forbes.com], it is reported that the text Messaging service of Sohu has been suspended for 12 months for "sending out nearly 1,400 unsolicited text-message advertisements for its 'I Want Photo' mobile phone picture-messaging service", which will result in a major reduction in revenue and profit for the company.

More importantly, it sent stocks in Sohu down 19% and also affected stocks in other Chinese internet and communications companies.

"The intent of these actions being so heavy-handed is a clear message to everyone else in the market not to try and push the limits."

Onya
Woz

[bill]

That's a tough way to learn a lesson for Sohu. This comes as Sohu was just building up some positive momentum with their new SoGou [webmasterworld.com] SE. However, the 2.5G phone network they mention is somewhat susceptible to spam of that type and if the carrier isn't heavy-handed it can lead to a lot of problems. The carriers in Japan all had to go through this and it was out of control for a while there.

[Woz]

Apparently it was a technical glitch [reuters.com] that caused the flood of outgoung messages. Oops!

Onya
Woz

[bill]

...but the China Mobile suspension still stands.

Zhang said he saw no grounds for Sohu to appeal the China Mobile suspension because of strict agreements between the two companies covering unsolicited marketing.

That's really unfortunate for them.