The headquarters of Didi, the Chinese “Uber”, in Beijing, July 2, 2021 (AFP/Archives/Jade GAO)
Chinese ride-hailing app Didi accepted new users on Monday for the first time since 2021, after local authorities imposed a huge fine in July for violating data security rules.
The “Chinese Uber” announced in a press release that it had corrected the situation regarding these problems and assured that “the company (would) take effective measures to guarantee the security” of its platform.
In July 2021, the app was removed from download services and authorities banned Didi from registering new users, shortly after it went public on Wall Street.
The company had recorded its withdrawal in December of the same year.
An investigation had judged that its data collection policy was in “serious violation” of the rules in this area.
In July 2022, the internet regulator fined it $1.2 billion in particular for analyzing passenger data without their knowledge and storing personal information of more than 57 million drivers in an insufficiently secure.
Didi is one of the many flagships of Chinese tech to have been severely affected by restrictive measures in the sector, which have caused several local digital giants to lose billions of dollars since 2021.
Some have been targeted for their monopolistic behavior while others like Didi have been singled out for national cybersecurity issues.
The reopening of the Chinese VTC leader to new users is the latest signal of easing, as China tries to reboost its economy, seriously affected by three years of very harsh anti-Covid policy.
In May, Premier Li Keqiang called for help for tech companies to go public, both in China and abroad.
But players in the sector are still closely watched. On Monday, the Hong Kong-listed behemoth Tencent reported “problems of corruption and fraud” within its ranks and announced the dismissal of around 100 employees, some of whom were reported to the police.
© 2023 AFP
Did you like this article ? Share it with your friends with the buttons below.
