Meituan, 1 of China's biggest nutrient transportation firms, has been nether fire, with peculiar scrutiny paid to the moving conditions of its millions of transportation drivers.
China has fined nutrient transportation elephantine Meituan 3.4 cardinal yuan ($527 million) for monopolistic practices and ordered it to undertake a "comprehensive rectification", the marketplace watchdog said Friday.
Authorities person launched a crackdown connected a scope of homegrown tech behemoths—including Meituan, ride-hailing elephantine Didi Chuxing and e-commerce titan Alibaba—for alleged monopolistic behaviours and assertive harvesting of user data.
Meituan has been nether occurrence since marketplace regulators launched an probe into the radical successful April, with peculiar scrutiny paid to the working conditions of its millions of transportation drivers, who are often employed arsenic third-party contractors without legal protections oregon idiosyncratic benefits.
On Friday the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) said successful an online connection that an probe had concluded the radical had "abused its ascendant marketplace presumption successful China's online nutrient transportation level market."
It added that Meituan's behaviour "eliminates and restricts marketplace competition... weakens level innovation power" and "damages consumers' interests".
The 3.4 cardinal RMB good is adjacent to 3 percent of Meituan's 2020 home sales, the watchdog said.
It is conscionable the latest home-grown tech elephantine to travel nether Beijing's scrutiny.
E-commerce behemoth Alibaba was deed with a grounds $2.78 cardinal good by the marketplace regulator successful April, erstwhile a abstracted probe said it had been abusing its ascendant marketplace position.
Chinese authorities person since ordered online nutrient transportation platforms to warrant basal labour protections for transportation riders, specified arsenic a basal income supra minimum wage and entree to insurance coverage.
Regulators successful September ordered Meituan's ride-hailing arm—along with 10 different car platforms—to halt "disorderly expansion" and "vicious competition" tactics.
Tech firms person been battered successful caller months arsenic Chinese regulators tighten the leash, citing data security and antitrust concerns.
Meituan shares plunged 14 percent successful July aft caller rules were issued to support hard-pressed drivers and guarantee workers' incomes are supra minimum wage levels.
© 2021 AFP
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