Chinese short video app Kuaishou is planning to block external links to Alibaba-owned e-commerce platform Taobao and online retailer JD from March. Taobao product links will be barred from displaying within the video app, while JD links will be blocked from showing in the shopping chart during livestreaming sessions, but still accessible through shopping charts in short videos and on information pages. The company has attributed the forthcoming changes to “agreement adjustments” without providing further details. Short video sites, notably Kuaishou and Douyin, are building up their own e-commerce businesses to compete with market incumbents such as Alibaba and JD. Kuaishou reportedly achieved a gross merchandise value of RMB 680 billion ($108 billion) in 2021, higher than a downsized RMB 650 billion target, but still less than its original RMB 750 to 800 billion goal. [Ifeng, in Chinese]