Tech Giants Clash Over Lunar New Year Bonuses

In a move that's stirring China's tech community, WeChat has blocked sharing links for Baidu's Wenyin Assistant red envelope campaign during the crucial Spring Festival period. When users try opening these festive links within WeChat, they're met with a stark warning: "The web page contains诱导 or misleading download/jump content." The only workaround? Manually copying the URL to another browser - hardly convenient for spontaneous holiday sharing.

Platform Crackdown Intensifies

The restriction didn't come out of nowhere. WeChat Security Center recently issued special guidelines targeting Spring Festival marketing tactics. Their beef? Some campaigns disguise themselves as harmless "complete tasks, get rewards" promotions while actually pushing users to spam chats and Moments with share requests. "This severely disrupts WeChat's social ecosystem," the platform stated bluntly, calling such behavior both annoying and experience-ruining.

What makes this standoff particularly spicy is that Tencent - WeChat's parent company - saw its own Yuanbao AI face similar restrictions earlier. Now with Baidu in the penalty box too, industry watchers see a pattern emerging: platforms are drawing harder lines around viral marketing, even when it comes from fellow tech titans.

The Stakes Behind Digital Red Packets

Red envelopes aren't just festive traditions anymore - they've become battlegrounds for user attention in China's hyper-competitive tech landscape. During Lunar New Year, when digital activity surges, companies jockey aggressively for visibility through these culturally resonant giveaways.

Baidu hasn't publicly addressed the block yet, but analysts suggest this signals broader shifts:

• Platforms are prioritizing user experience over short-term engagement spikes
• Viral mechanics that worked previously may hit new roadblocks
• AI model competition is spilling into marketing channels

The timing couldn't be more delicate. With major players racing to establish their AI assistants' popularity, holiday campaigns represented prime opportunities - if they could navigate increasingly strict platform rules.

Key Points:

• Access blocked: WeChat now flags Baidu Wenyin Assistant's red envelope links as potentially misleading
• Manual workaround required: Users must copy-paste URLs into external browsers
• Pattern emerging: Follows similar restrictions on Tencent's own Yuanbao product
• Marketing dilemma: Companies must balance visibility grabs with platform compliance
• Industry implications: Signals tougher stance on viral mechanics during peak seasons