(Yicai Global) Feb. 3 -- Tencent Holdings has refuted ByteDance Technology's claim of unfair market practices as the two social media rivals fight over which links can be shared via their platforms.

The Douyin operator's monopoly charge against Tencent is false, the Shenzhen-based WeChat owner told Yicai Global yesterday. Tencent provides services to its users and third-party products, following the principles of fair competition and open cooperation, it added.

The Chinese version of TikTok filed a complaint at the Beijing Intellectual Property Court yesterday, claiming that Tencent violated China's anti-monopoly rules by restricting WeChat and QQ users from sharing Douyin content, China News reported. ByteDance seeks CNY90 million (USD13.9 million) in compensation.

Tencent hasn’t received any notice about the lawsuit, the firm said.

ByteDance, which also runs news aggregator Toutiao and Xigua Video, had said on Feb. 1 that it will stop allowing finance and healthcare content creators on Douyin to share WeChat and QQ links as these sites may involve false promotion, the sale of unlicensed products, and other risky behaviors. That sparked online rumors of a ban targeting the rival.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi