Beijing calls out Amazon, ByteDance, NetEase for violating users’ rights in latest crackdown

The 145 named apps have until July 26 to take corrective measures or face punishment, the Ministry of Information Technology (MIIT) said on Monday

The MIIT has named and shamed over 1,300 apps since 2019 for illegally collecting user information, requesting excessive permissions or misleading customers

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Published: 5:00pm, 20 Jul 2021Updated: 9:57pm, 20 Jul 2021

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has called out apps made by Amazon, NetEase and Tiktok-owner ByteDance, as well as 142 other apps, for violating users’ rights.

Amazon’s China app and NetEase’s Dashen, an online community for gamers, have illegally collected user information, the ministry said in its latest list of problematic apps released on Monday.

In addition, Douyin Lite, a version of TikTok’s Chinese app made for lower-end phones, did not clearly display app information on the app store while Huya, a major live-streaming platform backed by Tencent Holdings, was found to have deceived, misled or forced users to turn on certain permissions, according to the ministry.

Amazon said in an emailed statement that it will “continue to coordinate closely with the ministry to ensure we are meeting its requirements”. Other app operators did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

As part of the regular naming and shaming of Chinese apps by the central government, the MIIT has exerted its authority since 2019 with a total of 15 lists of problematic apps, including 6 so far this year.

The ministry has singled out more than 1,300 apps to date for illegally collecting user information, requesting excessive permissions or misleading customers.