Chinese Government Issues Corrective Orders to 43 Apps Including WeChat, Pressuring Big Tech Firms

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] As the Chinese government continues its pressure on big tech companies, it has now issued corrective orders against popular apps such as WeChat, known as the "Chinese KakaoTalk."

On the 18th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China announced on its website that it had issued corrective orders to 43 apps with issues such as illegal use of location information and user contact details, as well as indiscriminate pop-up advertisements.

The targeted apps span various industries and include WeChat, Tencent TV, Tencent Maps, iQIYI (an OTT online video service affiliated with Baidu), Trip.com, Souhu TV, Sougou Maps, Phoenix News, and Suning.

Among these, WeChat, Tencent TV, and Tencent Maps are all key services of Tencent. In particular, WeChat is China's national messenger with over 1.2 billion monthly active users. WeChat is connected to many internet services in China.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology warned that if each operator fails to fully rectify the issues by the 25th of this month, they will be subject to penalties according to regulations.

Since the Chinese Communist Party and government publicly criticized Alibaba founder Jack Ma last October, they have significantly strengthened regulations targeting internet companies under various pretexts such as antitrust, financial stability, and consumer information protection. On the 26th of last month, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced it would launch a "dedicated internet industry crackdown" over the next six months.

On the 30th of last month, 25 core internet platform companies, including Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance, were summoned and required that their executives take responsibility, familiarize themselves with the crackdown list, and correct their wrongdoings. Amid this, the Chinese Communist Party and government indicated in a mid- to long-term legislative roadmap document announced on the 11th that they would strengthen antitrust-related legislation, suggesting that pressure on big tech companies under the pretext of antitrust will continue for years to come.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.