Alibaba Browser Pulled From Chinese App Stores

Chinese internet companies have pulled an Alibaba internet
browser from their app stores a day after President Xi Jinping
warned that Beijing’s crackdown on big tech companies was just
beginning.

The decision to remove the popular UC Browser is the latest hit
to the empire of Jack Ma, China’s most famous entrepreneur, after
regulators scuppered the record $37bn initial public offering of
Ant Group, Alibaba’s financial technology affiliate. Ma has barely
been seen in public since the listing was pulled last November, as
Xi tightens Beijing’s grip on the economy.

The decision came a day after a Communist party leadership
meeting chaired by the president issued an unusually blunt warning
to the country’s tech sector over its growing size and
influence.

“Some platform companies are growing in an inappropriate manner
and therefore bear risks. It is a considerable problem that the
current regulatory regime has failed to adjust” to the rise of
these groups, the minutes of the meeting said.

Regulators will “step up” efforts to improve the regulation of
China’s big internet companies, the minutes added.

Ecommerce group Alibaba, which accounts for about one-tenth of
retail sales in the country, has been the prime target of the
crackdown.

The Communist party is especially concerned with the group’s
media investments and its ability to influence public opinion.
Officials have discussed forcing Alibaba to divest some of its
media stakes, such as a minority holding in financial news provider
Yicai Media Group and Weibo, the microblogging platform, according
to one person familiar with the matter.

Alibaba also owns the South China Morning Post, the Hong
Kong-based English-language newspaper.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Beijing had asked
Alibaba to dispose of media assets.

China’s market regulator has also finalised rules for online
transactions that will prohibit companies from making exclusive
deals with merchants to sell on their platforms rather than those
of rivals, a practice that is at the centre of an antitrust
investigation into Alibaba. The regulations will come into force
from May and will ban ecommerce platforms from penalising merchants
for selling on other sites.

The effort against UC Browser came after a programme on
state-owned broadcaster CCTV targeted the tech industry on China’s
consumer rights day, an annual event when the channel investigates
alleged malpractice and documents the findings on a primetime
show.

This year’s programme included a segment on misleading online
medical advertising.

UC Browser was shown to allow private hospitals to bid for the
names of China’s large well-known hospitals in keyword searches,
leading potential patients to their websites instead of the public
hospitals they intended to visit.

Most of China’s Android app stores, including those operated by
Chinese technology groups Huawei, Xiaomi and Tencent, have blocked
downloads or removed the browser.

Having an app taken down for a period of time is a common
punishment in China for companies deemed to have broken the
rules.

UCWeb, the Alibaba unit that operates the browser, apologised
for the illegal adverts and pledged to strengthen oversight of the
app.

Alibaba did not respond to a request for comment.

“It’s a difficult practice to change. Merchants are still afraid
of the power platforms hold,” said Li Chengdong, head of Haitun, a
tech-focused think-tank. “If the government levies a huge fine on
Ali, and they admit their mistakes, maybe it’ll change.”

https://www.ft.com/

Chinese internet companies have pulled an Alibaba internet
browser from their app stores a day after President Xi Jinping
warned that Beijing’s crackdown on big tech companies was just
beginning.

The decision to remove the popular UC Browser is the latest hit
to the empire of Jack Ma, China’s most famous entrepreneur, after
regulators scuppered the record $37bn initial public offering of
Ant Group, Alibaba’s financial technology affiliate. Ma has barely
been seen in public since the listing was pulled last November, as
Xi tightens Beijing’s grip on the economy.

The decision came a day after a Communist party leadership
meeting chaired by the president issued an unusually blunt warning
to the country’s tech sector over its growing size and
influence.

“Some platform companies are growing in an inappropriate manner
and therefore bear risks. It is a considerable problem that the
current regulatory regime has failed to adjust” to the rise of
these groups, the minutes of the meeting said.

Regulators will “step up” efforts to improve the regulation of
China’s big internet companies, the minutes added.

Ecommerce group Alibaba, which accounts for about one-tenth of
retail sales in the country, has been the prime target of the
crackdown.

The Communist party is especially concerned with the group’s
media investments and its ability to influence public opinion.
Officials have discussed forcing Alibaba to divest some of its
media stakes, such as a minority holding in financial news provider
Yicai Media Group and Weibo, the microblogging platform, according
to one person familiar with the matter.

Alibaba also owns the South China Morning Post, the Hong
Kong-based English-language newspaper.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Beijing had asked
Alibaba to dispose of media assets.

China’s market regulator has also finalised rules for online
transactions that will prohibit companies from making exclusive
deals with merchants to sell on their platforms rather than those
of rivals, a practice that is at the centre of an antitrust
investigation into Alibaba. The regulations will come into force
from May and will ban ecommerce platforms from penalising merchants
for selling on other sites.

The effort against UC Browser came after a programme on
state-owned broadcaster CCTV targeted the tech industry on China’s
consumer rights day, an annual event when the channel investigates
alleged malpractice and documents the findings on a primetime
show.

This year’s programme included a segment on misleading online
medical advertising.

UC Browser was shown to allow private hospitals to bid for the
names of China’s large well-known hospitals in keyword searches,
leading potential patients to their websites instead of the public
hospitals they intended to visit.

Most of China’s Android app stores, including those operated by
Chinese technology groups Huawei, Xiaomi and Tencent, have blocked
downloads or removed the browser.

Having an app taken down for a period of time is a common
punishment in China for companies deemed to have broken the
rules.

UCWeb, the Alibaba unit that operates the browser, apologised
for the illegal adverts and pledged to strengthen oversight of the
app.

Alibaba did not respond to a request for comment.

“It’s a difficult practice to change. Merchants are still afraid
of the power platforms hold,” said Li Chengdong, head of Haitun, a
tech-focused think-tank. “If the government levies a huge fine on
Ali, and they admit their mistakes, maybe it’ll change.”

https://www.ft.com/