China fines Alibaba, JD.com, Vipshop for price complaints

Consumers accused these platforms of raising product prices before offering discounts during a major shopping festival in November, which made it look like they were getting a better deal than they really were, according to the regulator. The platforms were also involved in conducting fake promotions and the use of bait and switch tactics, the regulator said.

Alibaba declined to comment. JD.com and Vipshop Holdings did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Although the fines were nominal for companies, they serve as a warning to them and to the Internet sector in general. In recent months, China has been studying the powerful technology sector that has accumulated large amounts of user data.

This campaign has so far affected billionaire Jack Ma, along with the two companies he founded: Alibaba and the fintech giant Ant Group.

In early November, Beijing canceled Ant’s initial public offering at the box office, which had been on track to raise at least $ 34.4 billion. This came after Ma, Ant’s controlling shareholder, criticized President Xi Jinping’s risk control initiative, while also slamming regulators to stifle innovation. On Sunday, regulators ordered Ant to refocus its attention on its original payments business, while restricting more profitable investments and loans.

Meanwhile, regulators last week launched an antitrust probe into Alibaba, which owns a third of Ant, over allegations that the company has used its dominant market position to pressure traders to sell only on its platforms. The Chinese government wants to reduce Mr. Ma’s empire and potentially take a bigger stake in its business.

China also introduced a set of new antitrust guidelines for the technology industry last month, aimed at regulating new Internet consumer trends.

—Liza Lin contributed to this article.

Write to Chong Koh Ping to [email protected]