China clamps down on 136 apps for privacy violations - Android

Chinese regulators are increasingly scrutinizing how private companies handle the data of its nearly 1 billion internet users.

Chinese regulators have given more than 130 apps including those developed by dronemaker DJI, social media and gaming giant Tencent, and artificial intelligence firm iFlyTek until Wednesday to fix privacy violations that include overcollecting users’ personal information.

Why it matters: China has increased scrutiny on how private companies handle the data of its nearly 1 billion internet users.

• The country’s latest Five-Year Plan set out goals to develop systems and standards for data security rights and protections, as China pushes its digital economy.
• The amount of data that companies collect has become a major concern for Beijing. Regulators have led several crackdowns on the digital sector aiming to curb rampant data collection.

READ MORE: The loophole in China’s privacy regime: anonymization

Details: China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Friday the companies had overcollected personal information and misled users into downloading their software.

• The MIIT said that the companies had been notified about the issues after an investigation but had yet to resolve the issues. The ministry has given the firms until Wednesday to deal with the violations.
• Apps included on the list include DJI GO 4, iFlyTek’s speech-to-text dubbing platform Peiyin, and Tencent’s mobile security app.
• The 136 apps are the third batch of the MIIT has cracked down on so far in 2021, according to the ministry.