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Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent rank low in protecting digital rights, but it’s not all their fault, study finds
- The annual Ranking Digital Rights report showed the three Chinese internet giants in the middle of a pack of 26 Big Tech firms
- The report said ‘China’s system of authoritarian internet control has inescapable consequences’ for domestic companies in the ranking
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Chinese internet giants Baidu, Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings – the triumvirate known as BAT – rank among the lowest in terms of ensuring user privacy and freedom of expression on their platforms, according to a new survey comparing such policies by leading Big Tech companies.
The annual Ranking Digital Rights index, a research project under Washington-based think tank New America, published its latest report on Wednesday. It evaluated the practices of 26 major online platforms and telecommunications companies, including Apple, Facebook and AT&T.
E-commerce provider Alibaba, parent company of the South China Morning Post, was included in the report for the first time and tied with online search service Baidu in tenth place. Tencent, operator of WeChat and the world’s largest video games business by revenue, was ranked 13th.
Despite the low ranking, it was not all BAT’s fault. “China’s system of authoritarian internet control has inescapable consequences for Chinese companies [in the ranking],” said Rebecca MacKinnon, founding director of Ranking Digital Rights, in the report.
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Inside a Chinese internet censorship centre
Inside a Chinese internet censorship centre
“China’s information control regime compels digital platforms to censor and surveil speech and activities that pose a challenge to the government’s authority … as long as that regime prevails, users of internet and mobile services in China will remain trapped in an information ecosystem that perpetuates and reinforces state power,” MacKinnon said.
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