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Regulation
China

China removes 25 more Didi-linked apps from stores, tightening noose around nation’s biggest ride-hailing service

  • Newly blacklisted apps include the popular Didi Shunfeng, used by ride-pooling passengers, and several tailored for Didi drivers
  • One more blow to the company as it deals with a government crackdown at home and litigation overseas

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Chinese regulators are alleging the illegal collection of user data by Didi. Photo Illustration: Reuters
Owen Churchill

Chinese regulators blacklisted 25 more apps associated with the ride-hailing platform Didi Chuxing on Friday, the latest blow to the company as it reckons with a government crackdown at home and litigation overseas.

App stores in China, where some 90 per cent of the ride-hailing market is dominated by Didi, were ordered to remove the company’s primary app last week on “national security” grounds, just days after it went public on the New York Stock Exchange.

In a notice posted late Friday evening, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) demanded that more than two dozen additional apps tied to Didi be scrubbed from China’s app stores, alleging the illegal collection of user data.

In similar language to its original directive, which had been issued against Didi on Sunday, the CAC ordered the 25 apps to “thoroughly rectify the existing problems in strict accordance with the requirements of the law and according to national standards”.

Zhuang Rongwen leads the Cyberspace Administration of China. Photo: Reuters
Zhuang Rongwen leads the Cyberspace Administration of China. Photo: Reuters

The apps included platforms catering to enterprise clients and those moving freight, as well as apps tailored for Didi drivers, such as those used to manage dashcam footage.

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