China’s tech regulator says scrutiny of internet industry to deepen as targeted six-month campaign continues

The head of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said scrutiny of the internet sector will deepen and pledged support for small businesses

The agency is three months into a six-month campaign to fix perceived problems with the digital economy, such as poor data security practices

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Chinese men use their smartphones on the streets of Beijing on August 22, 2021. Three months into a targeted campaign against the internet industry, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said scrutiny of the industry will deepen. Photo: AP

Published: 5:30pm, 17 Oct 2021Updated: 10:36pm, 17 Oct 2021

China’s industry regulator plans to deepen scrutiny of the internet industry as it moves into the second half of a six-month campaign launched in July, the agency’s minister told Chinese media, prolonging a crackdown on the technology sector that has lasted for nearly a year.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will take “targeted measures” to foster a fair and orderly market environment, Minister Xiao Yaqing told state-run media outlet Economic Daily in an interview published on Sunday.

Xiao’s comments come three months into a targeted campaign to purge what it considers problems in the internet sector. It has become another element of Beijing’s intensifying scrutiny of numerous parts of the digital sector over the last year, hitting everything from social media to financial services. The MIIT is one of China’s most important tech regulators.

In its current campaign, the MIIT has pledged to address issues that include poor data security practices, forcing users to accept personalised services, and blocking or restricting access to competing services, a common practice among China’s internet giants that keeps users locked into specific app ecosystems.

Since the campaign started, multiple Big Tech companies have been opening up their platforms to comply with new regulatory requirements. The results could eventually be wide-ranging, affecting how these companies compete with each other.

Last month, Tencent Holdings’ WeChat, China’s largest social media platform, started allowing users to open links shared from rival platforms in one-to-one chats.

Alibaba Group Holding, the owner of the South China Morning Post, also started allowing consumers to use WeChat Pay on a number of its platforms, including food delivery service Ele.me, video-streaming platform Youku, online ticketing platform Damai and cross-border e-commerce platform Kaola. Alibaba platforms primarily rely on Alipay, WeChat Pay’s main competitor, which is operated by the company’s fintech affiliate Ant Group.