Kendra Schaefer 凯娜

An opinion piece today on http://people.cn  - The best take I've read so far on Beijing's views and motivations re: crackdown on Didi, IPOs and the move to reign in internet companies. Some key quotes below. 1/x https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/2021-07-06/doc-ikqciyzk3929049.shtml …

Tech companies have been in an era of "barbaric growth": "The so-called end of the barbaric era means that in addition to laying down systematic rules, the rules needs to be truly implemented to maintain healthy [market] order." 2/16

"The implementation of China's cyber security review mechanism indicates that Chinese Internet companies will officially bid farewell to the barbaric growth stage." 3/16

"The Personal Information Protection Law will under go its 3rd draft in August, and it will be implemented [soon after]. Coupled with the Data Security Law that will become effective on September 1, the foundation of the digital age has basically taken shape." 4/16

"That means [Chinese tech companies have] entered a new stage - the compliance stage. In the new stage, Internet companies need to regard compliance with laws and regulations as an important part of their continued operations." 5/16

"In the barbaric growth stage, internet companies have been laissez-faire about [security and compliance]. In additional to long-standing problems such as personal information collection and cross-border data flow, there are also huge hidden dangers at the capital level." 6/16

"China has restrictions on foreign investment in certain areas such as the Internet, news media, education, and finance. However, through the VIE structure, foreign investment has bypassed many investment restrictions and has entered almost all areas of China's Internet." 7/16

"It is undeniable that the VIE structure made important contributions to the development of China's Internet. ... But through the VIE structure, almost all Internet companies in China have their rights and interests in foreign countries first." 8/16