BEIJING — More than 20 Chinese tech giants have made a public pact to abide
by anti-monopoly guidelines, after regulators told them to note "the
warning" of a record fine against e-commerce giant Alibaba.
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Beijing is taking China's tech firms to task to curtail the reach of private
companies into the daily finances of the Chinese public — and, analysts say, to
rein in their runaway expansion.
In a series of individual statements published by China's market regulator
on Wednesday and Thursday, some of the country's biggest brands — including
ByteDance, Baidu and CTrip — promised to "ensure fair competition",
"not abuse market dominance", and "not implement unfair price behavior".
The oaths come after regulators summoned 34 tech companies on Tuesday and
warned them to "rectify" any anti-competitive measures and "heed
the warning of Alibaba's case."
The firms were given one month to undergo complete rectification after
conducting internal checks, and to correct practices that harmed competition.
Ride-hailing service Didi, video platforms Kuaishou, and Bilibili, as well
as e-commerce firm JD.com are also among those who have since published
commitments.
JD.com said it would not force the practice of "choosing one of
two" on its retailers — where merchants are compelled to work only with one
platform and not its rivals — a move which Alibaba had come under fire for.
Meanwhile, in its statement, Didi pledged: "Except where necessary for
regular business activities, we will not illegally collect or misuse personal
information."
The next front in Beijing's assault on big tech could be the huge volumes of
data they scoop up from China's consumers.
On Saturday, regulators hit Alibaba with a $2.78 billion penalty, after a
months-long investigation found it had been abusing its dominant market
position.
Alibaba and JD.com, along with messaging and gaming giant Tencent, have
become hugely profitable on the back of growing Chinese digital lifestyles and
government restrictions on major US competitors in the domestic market.
But as the platforms amassed hundreds of millions of regular users, concern
has risen over their influence in China, where they are used for a huge array
of daily tasks.
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