China should consider digital tax for large tech firms collecting copious amounts of user data, regulator says

  • An official with China’s securities watchdog said the country should consider a digital tax, likening it to taxing natural resources
  • The comments are the latest sign of widening government scrutiny of Big Tech following a recent antitrust crackdown

A view of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) office building located at Beijing's Financial Street in downtown Beijing on December 18, 2019. Photo: Simon Song
China should consider imposing a digital tax on technology companies that hold copious amounts of user data, a securities watchdog official was quoted as saying by Beijing News, in the latest sign of widening government scrutiny of the sector.

“Some third-party platform-like enterprises hold a large amount of users’ data, just like holding precious mineral mines,” the government-back newspaper cited Yao Qian, science and technology supervision bureau chief at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), saying at a forum held in Beijing.

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