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Updated April 13th, 2021 at 19:39 IST

China warns 34 tech giants including TikTok to 'heed the warning of Alibaba's case'

Following the $2.8 bn record fine to  Alibaba in an anti-trust investigation, Chin has warned 34 other tech giants including Tencent, Baidu and TikTok.

Reported by: Aanchal Nigam
China
Image credits: Twitter/AP | Image:self
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Following the $2.8 billion record fine to  Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in an anti-trust investigation, China on April 13 has warned 34 other tech giants including Tencent, Baidu and TikTok to “rectify” any anti-competitive measures. Days after Chinese regulators slapped the fine on Jack Ma’s e-commerce giant for abusing its dominance in the market, the regulators on Tuesday warned other companies to “heed the warning of Alibaba’s case” and pledged to continue to eradicate monopoly practices in the country. 

As per the Bloomberg report, shares in Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Meituan recorded losses after China’s State Administration for Market Regulation issued the statement that laid emphasis on its measures to eradicate abuse of information as well as market dominance among other such violations. Further, industry leaders including TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd., search giant Baidu Inc. and JD.com Inc. were summoned to an ad-hoc meeting with the watchdog.

“The base line of policies cannot the crossed, the red line of laws cannot be touched,” the market watchdog said in the statement on Tuesday.

The meeting on Tuesday was reportedly organised with the cyberspace and tax regulators came just days after China concluded a four-month investigation into Alibaba and imposed a record fine on the e-commerce giant. The penalty was comparatively less strict than what many reportedly feared that led to the company’s odd response.

Alibaba Gives Odd Response To China's Record Fine

In a remarkably odd response, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the e-commerce giant expressed gratitude towards the regulators for imposing the record fine of $2.8 billion. As per Bloomberg report, Alibaba’s response indicates how odd the Chinese government’s crackdown on the tech giant has been compared with the rest of the world. For instance, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg or Apple’s Tim Cook would likely not express gratitude with public posts of the United States government ever imposes any fine.

Most turn of events regarding China’s regulatory push has been reportedly peculiar. Beijing wrapped up its anti-trust probe in four months while such investigations take years in countries such as the United States or Europe. China’s crackdown sent an evident message that the country’s largest corporations and the leaders that the anti-competitive behaviour will lead to more consequences.

Image credits: Twitter/AP

 

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Published April 13th, 2021 at 19:39 IST

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