A Chinese online platform providing free reading services is temporarily unavailable, after Beijing's top watchdog for regulating internet affairs ordered it to rectify content after finding it contains a large amount of illegal and improper information that has been posted for a long time.

The rectification order given by the capital's Cyberspace Administration was on the homepage page of the platform's website, 360doc.com, when a China Daily reporter visited the site at 5 pm Monday.

The rectification began at 4 pm Monday and is in force until 4 pm on Nov 15, the administration said. During that period, registered users can log in to read their own articles only.

The authority said it talked to the platform operator, a Beijing technology company called Liu Zhi, and suspended its services, because the operator didn't rectify its website thoroughly when it was found to have illegal and improper content despite repeated warnings.

Under the Chinese Cybersecurity Law, online service operators should strictly review information uploaded by their users. If improper content is found, the operators should suspend services immediately, take measures to prevent the situation and report it to the Cyberspace Administration.

"360doc didn't implement its duty in line with the law, which has brought negative effects to society," the authority said in a statement.