China’s internet regulator has released its first list of 41 mobile apps that infringed users’ rights, including several from well-known tech giants like Tencent and Xiaomi.
The list, published Thursday on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), comes after the ministry last month launched a crackdown on apps violating users’ privacy, a pervasive concern in China that has only worsened in recent years.
Over 8,000 apps completed self-inspections and made rectifications over the past few weeks, the ministry said. However, the 41 apps on Thursday’s list remain problematic, over-collecting user data or requesting unnecessary permissions.
Two Tencent apps were on the list. Messaging service QQ, which had 807 million monthly active users last year, was included for forcing users to accept its targeted push notifications and agree to certain mandatory permissions, as well as setting obstacles for users attempting to cancel their accounts. The company’s e-reader app, QQ Yuedu, made the list for one additional reason: sharing user data with third parties without permission. Smartphone maker Xiaomi, meanwhile, had its financial services app included on the list over account cancellation issues.
In Thursday’s notice, the MIIT ordered the developers of the 41 apps to fix their problems by the end of the year or face unspecified punishments.
Chinese people are increasingly concerned about the amount of data being collected by mobile apps and how it’s being used, after numerous surveys by consumer watchdogs and police found that a large percentage of the country’s mobile apps — including household names like ride-sharing service Didi Chuxing and microblogging platform Weibo — violate users’ rights. To tackle the problem, China’s cyberspace administration has taken steps toward making apps more transparent about and accountable for the data they collect.
(Image: Tuchong)
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