Alibaba, Tencent fined in China for not complying with anti-monopoly rules

 

· The amendments were passed on at the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee’s 35th meeting. Since China’s anti-monopoly law went into effect in August 2008, these are the first revisions. This law has undergone revisions after being approved by China’s top legislative body in June and it will go into effect on August 1. It is believed that the amended anti-monopoly law will close some regulatory gaps regarding the abuse of market dominance, and also provide private companies with a clearer “bottom line" regarding illegal activities that jeopardize fair market competition.

·   A major revision of the law focuses on how to address the new challenges brought on by the development of the digital economy and properly regulate the platform economy. A fair competition review mechanism will be established and improved by the amended law, and competition regulations that are compatible with China’s market economy will be developed and put into practice.

·      It is noteworthy that according to experts, major industry players can continue to expand in compliance with the law while adhering to the updated law’s additional regulation of the platform economy as a whole with standardized norms. The revisions also defined the application of pertinent regulations aimed at the platform economy, such as operators cannot use data, algorithms, technology, capital advantage, and platform rules to participate in monopolistic actions, according to a draft version posted on June 16.

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