Illegal Activities, Drug Trafficking, Regulated Goods and Services

Illegal trade and abuse of regulated goods and services pose significant risks, including physical harm (weapons, drugs, wildlife exploitation), financial loss, and harm to public Such behavior may attract criminal liability and endanger vulnerable communities.

WeChat prohibits content or behavior that facilitates, promotes, or profits from illegal activities or the trade of regulated or illicit goods and services. This includes coordinating crimes, providing instructions or tools to commit crimes, offering, advertising, trading or sourcing prohibited or controlled items.

Promotion of gambling

Gambling means risking money or something of value in games of chance or luck for money, other property or benefit. We do not allow content:

a) depicting gambling activities (e.g. private gambling, Red Packet gambling using the Red Packet functions on WeChat, chess gambling and H5 platform gambling);

b) enticing others to gamble;

c) promoting casinos, sports betting, poker, lotteries, gambling-related software and apps, or other gambling services;

However, on a case-by-case basis, exceptions may be allowed for:

a) content relating to legally permitted forms of gambling (e.g. legalized public lotteries or lucky draws), provided that such content does not have the effect of promoting any form of gambling, and there is no association whatsoever with other forms of gambling which may be illegal or otherwise not permitted on the WeChat platform; and

b) content which educates the public on the dangers of gambling or gambling addictions.

Sale or transfer of protected wild animals

We do not allow content that:

a) attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift, or asks for, protected wild animals or endangered species or their parts;

b) admits to poaching, buying, or trading of endangered species or their parts by the poster of the content by themselves or through others;

c) depicts poaching of endangered species and their parts committed by the poster of the content by themselves or through others; or

d) promotes, encourages, coordinates or provide instructions to use or make products from endangered species or their parts.

Sale or transfer of regulated goods or services

We do not allow acts of buying, selling, trading, donating or gifting:

a) alcohol or tobacco products between private individuals, and is not posted by a page, group or social media profile representing a real brick and mortar store, legitimate website or brand;

b) sex toys and sexual enhancement products, weight loss products or potentially dangerous cosmetic procedures;

c) driving-related violations, for example, services offering to handle the driving-related violations on behalf of the errant driver, or trading in license points;

d) dark web products, for example, leaked data, cybercrime know-how and tutorials; or

e) restricted goods and services generally, including human organs and body parts, human blood, counterfeit currency, historical artefacts and hazardous goods and materials.

Sale or transfer of illicit or controlled drugs

We do not allow content that:

a) attempts to advertise, offer, solicit, buy, sell, trade, donate, gift, source or coordinate payment, delivery, logistics, supplier referrals, menus/pricing, or “DM to order” for:

(i) recreational drugs (drugs taken for pleasure rather than for medical purposes);

(ii) high-risk drugs (drugs that have a high risk of misuse or addiction, or may cause serious health risks e.g. fentanyl, heroin, cocaine etc.); and

(iii) prescription drugs (drugsthat require a medical prescription from a licensed healthcare professional);

b) admits to procuring or distributing recreational drugs, high-risk drugs or prescription drugs including arranging purchases for others or acting as an intermediary;

c) admits to personal use without acknowledgment of or reference to recovery, treatment, or other assistance to combat usage of recreational drugs or high-risk drugs; or

d) promotes, encourages, coordinates, or provides instructions, tips, or methods to manufacture, prepare, conceal, transport, or consume recreational drugs, prescription drugs or high-risk drugs, or evade medical, age, or ID checks.

We may, at our sole discretion, allow exceptions for the following content, if there is sufficient evidence or context showing that such content is not illegal or harmful:

a) public‑health, educational, or harm‑reduction information that raises awareness of the dangers of drugs, drug dependency, or safe recovery practices, provided it does not include instructions for procuring, manufacturing, or using controlled substances;

b) news or public service announcements relating to recreational drugs, high-risk drugs or prescription drugs, if shared for informational or awareness purposes only;

c) debates or academic discussions on the legality or merits of recreational drugs, high-risk drugs or prescription drugs (without encouraging or promoting the trade or use of such drugs); or

d) good‑faith help‑seeking or support content that facilitates recovery or provides verified resources for medical treatment, rehabilitation, or peer counseling, provided it does not solicit or advertise substances, share supplier information, or instruct on illicit use.

Sale or promotion of firearms and illicit weapons

We do not allow content that:

a) depicts, promotes or trades firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, explosives or lethal enhancements; or

b) provides access to manufacturing instructions for firearms, firearms parts, ammunition, explosives or lethal enhancements.

Human exploitation & trafficking

We do not allow content that may lead to or relates to human exploitation, including:

a) sex trafficking, covering minors and adults;

b) human trafficking and smuggling;

c) sales of children or illegal adoption;

d) orphanage trafficking and orphanage voluntourism;

e) arranged marriages with refugees or internally displaced persons;

f) labor exploitation (including bonded labor);

g) domestic servitude;

h) non-regenerative organ trafficking;

i) forced criminal activity (e.g. forced begging, forced illegal trafficking); and

j) recruitment of child soldiers.

Damage to private property

We do not allow content that promotes, incites, instructs, or encourages others to engage in property damage or related criminal acts, including:

a) vandalism; or

b) theft.