Tencent, Other Chinese Tech Firms Called Out For Privacy Violations

A number of Chinese tech companies were ordered to clean up policies on the way their apps deal with user information or face penalties, according to an Associated Press report on Thursday (Dec. 19).

The tech companies cited included social media giant Tencent, Sina Corp., Sohu.com Ltd. and Xiaomi Corp.

A total of 41 apps were found to be not in compliance of user data rules, according to regulators, and violations included improperly collecting or using information about visitors to their services.

The apps must comply by Dec. 31 or face consequences, which could include fines or loss of licenses that could reduce revenue or depress share prices.

China has the largest number of internet users in the world, with over 800 million people online, but the country also has strict censorship policies.

In other recent crackdowns by China’s Communist authorities, companies have faced increasingly steep control and regulation by the government. In 2014, Sina lost its license after facing charges of allowing lewd video content to be posted. And last year, Tencent saw declines in share prices when regulators began exercising more oversight on online games, concerned that young people were spending too much time on them.

The rules of the regulators are secret, but discussion of politically sensitive topics has been known to disappear from websites.

Google recently stopped airing advertisements in China for companies like VPN Mentor and Top10VPN, which can be used to circumvent the country’s censorship rules.

Two provinces in China, Hebei and Hunan, have also recently cracked down on Peer to Peer (P2P) lenders, which are ways for users to access files and information from centralized servers. Regulators in those provinces said they’re aiming to get rid of deception and inefficiency.

To Chinese authorities, such services were seen as eroding their financial sector.

In addition, China has been working to implement its social credit score system, in which authorities seek to create a central source of data on individuals that can be used to monitor their actions. As a result, millions were blocked from purchasing airline or train tickets due to things like unpaid taxes or fines.