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Chinese consumer group sues Baidu over collecting user data without consent

Chinese tech giant Baidu Inc is being sued by a consumer-protection organization, which claims that it has collected users’ personal information without permission, according to Caixin. The suit is the latest in a string of data-protection scandals to hit China’s largest technology firms in recent weeks. The Jiangsu Consumer Council, a government-backed consumer rights association, […]

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Banking & Finance Business Practice Law & Regulation Markets

China micro-loans restrictions impact Alibaba's Ant Financial

Alibaba’s financial affiliate Ant Financial has halted its practice of selling debt backed by consumer loans following the Chinese government’s crackdown on the micro-lending industry, Bloomberg reports. The company had raised billions of dollars through this method last year. Ant has not sold any asset-backed securities since early December, according to research by Bloomberg and China […]

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Reciprocity the buzzword as Macron arrives in China

French President Emmanuel Macron will have a difficult balancing act to pull off during his visit to China this week, according to Bloomberg, as he aims to charm his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping while also threatening to make life tougher for him. Macron arrives in China Monday. During his first trip to Asia since his election […]

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Banking & Finance Business Practice Consumer Economics & Trade Law & Regulation Politics & Society Tech, Media & Telecom This Week in China

Uproar in the new year

Another year begins, and we’re looking at some of the highflyers. LeEco’s CEO Jia Yueting is the United States and has decided so far to ignore an order to come home. He’s clearly re-organizing assets in the US and in Hong Kong that are beyond the direct grasp of Those in Command. Watch this space. […]

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Banking & Finance Business Practice Consumer Economics & Trade Law & Regulation Politics & Society Tech, Media & Telecom

Chinese internet users' concerns over data privacy are rising

A recent user backlash against Alibaba’s online finance affiliate Ant Financial suggests that Chinese citizens growing increasingly frustrated at internet companies playing fast-and-loose with their personal information, according to the New York Times. Ant Financial apologized to users on Thursday after a public outcry over a recent campaign it ran, in which customers who signed […]