China targets internet giants in antitrust law overhaul
- Proposed revisions included greater regulatory monitoring on the impact internet companies have on various online businesses
China has included the internet industry for the first time in an envisioned overhaul of its anti-monopoly laws, potentially giving regulators the power to rein in the country’s increasingly dominant technology giants.
Proposed revisions to the Anti-Monopoly Law, published last week, included language that accords regulators responsibility to monitor the impact that internet companies have on the online sector, their scale and their ability to control products and services.
More broadly, companies found to have violated the law could be fined as much as 10 per cent of their revenue or a maximum of 50 million yuan (US$7.2 million) if they do not generate significant sales, according to the revised rules posted on the State Administration for Market Regulation’s website. The draft is currently open to public consultation.
The proposal follows heightened scrutiny of technology companies worldwide, as regulators investigate the extent to which internet giants from Facebook to Google can use valuable data to shore up their dominance.
China itself is home to some of the world’s largest corporations, from e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding and WeChat operator Tencent Holdings to up-and-comers such as TikTok creator ByteDance. New York-listed Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.
A handful of domestic players control swathes of online businesses from retail to social media, and their backing is often key to the success of newly emergent start-ups. It is unclear what other punishments Beijing’s regulators could mete out, but the industry’s leaders have drawn criticism for years of over-aggressive competitive tactics.