Didi Chuxing, one of the world’s largest ride-hailing firms, has had its app blocked by Chinese regulators due to privacy concerns.
Over the weekend, a regulator from China’s Cyberspace Administration (CAC) ordered app store operators to remove Didi Chuxing from their platforms.
According to the CAC, the Didi Chuxing app was determined to be in significant violation of regulations in its acquisition and use of personal information after checks and verification.
In response, the company claimed that it expects the change to impact revenue, despite the fact that existing customers will still be able to use the app.
As this DiDi Chuxing app has been removed from Chinese app stores, it can no longer be downloaded in China; however, existing users who have already downloaded and installed the app on their phones may continue to use it.
The company will work to correct any issues, strengthen its risk prevention awareness and technological capabilities, protect users’ privacy and data security, and continue to deliver safe and easy services to its customers.
The company was worth about $68.5 billion at the time of its delisting, and its value on the New York Stock Exchange could suffer as a result.
According to reports, the app has 550 million users in the United States, as well as Australia, Latin America, and other Asian countries.
In 2016, it acquired Uber’s China operations, with the US corporation taking a minority investment in the company.
China’s Cybersecurity Law, which went into effect in 2017, was criticized at the time for giving authorities more power to regulate data flows within the country, forcing providers to store data behind the Great Firewall, and allowing authorities to conduct vaguely defined “security checks” on companies.
However, it incorporates GDPR-like components, such as increased data subject rights, criminal penalties for significant violators, and new data protection obligations for companies.
China’s laws, on the other hand, are more subject to interpretation and enforced arbitrarily by the authorities.
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