China on Sunday released new antitrust protocols aimed at cracking down on the country’s tech giants. Reuters reports. The guidelines, which finalize the draft law originally published in November, aim to “stop monopolistic behavior in the platform economy and protect fair competition in the market,” according to the Chinese State Administration of Market Regulation.
These rules would prohibit China’s major technology giants, such as Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings, from participating in a series of long-term internships in the market. Some of these include forcing merchants to choose from the country’s largest internet providers, inhibiting technological innovation, manipulating the market through data and algorithms, and setting prices, according to Reuters.
These practices have not been controlled for a long time, as the government has tackled internet business practice, but has been subjected to more intense scrutiny in recent months. Of course, Chinese regulators launched an antitrust probe into the Alibaba group in December on the alleged anti-competition practices of the e-commerce giant.
However, so far it has been a bit of a battle climb. In a Questions and Answers published along with its new protocols, the Chinese market regulator noted that it was struggling to impose comprehensive regulations and reforms.
“Behavior is more hidden, the use of data, algorithms, platform rules, etc., makes it more difficult to discover and determine what monopoly agreements are,” he told Reuters.
G / O Media may receive a commission
But these guidelines certainly they seem like a promising first step in tackling the subject.
[Reuters]