China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has launched a crackdown on almost 150 apps that violate user rights. Among those to be targeted are:
- Amazon’s China-based app
- NetEase’s Dashen – an online gaming community
- ByteDance’s Douyin Lite – an edition of short-video platform Douyin (Chinese TikTok) for lower-market phones
- Tencent’s Huya – a livestream gaming platform
Amazon and Dashen were called out for illegally collecting user data, while Huya was accused of misleading users and forcing them to turn on certain permissions.
According to the South China Morning Post, Amazon released an emailed statement, saying that it will:
“continue to coordinate closely with the ministry to ensure we are meeting its requirements”.
This is the latest in Chinese regulators’ ever-growing crackdown on tech companies. Following its listing in the US, ride-hailing service Didi was removed from app stores after breaching data laws earlier this month. 25 other apps operated by Didi were also barred due to concerns about their illegal collection of user data. In addition, several US-listed platforms have been subjected to cybersecurity reviews as regulators tighten oversight into Chinese companies seeking to list overseas.
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