By
Godfrey Benjamin
October 13th, 2023
Before the relaunch of user registration, existing users of the Didi app used it as long as they had it on their phones.
After an 18-month suspension in China, Didi finally got approval to relaunch its app on Monday, 16th January 2023. The Chinese authorities authorized the country’s app stores to delist Didi in July 2021. The company, which offers multiple app-based services such as food delivery, ride-hailing, and more, was faced with allegations of illegally collecting user data. The suspension came after the company raised about $4 billion following its debut in one of the US’s largest initial public offerings (IPOs). Before it was pulled down from China’s App Stores, Didi served around 493 million, annual active users. The company was also involved in about 41 million daily transactions. In response to the “national security concerns” raised by the regulators, Didi said it has started making “corrections.”
However, reports showed that Didi did not defend the safety of its cross-border data practices. This resulted in a more than a year security investigation by the watchdog. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) asked the company to pay a $1.19 billion fine for breaching rules. The CAC noted that Didi violated the nation’s network security law, data security law, and personal information protection law.
Didi Announces Relaunch in China
Announcing its relaunch on Monday morning, Didi wrote on Weibo:
“For more than a year, our company has seriously cooperated with the national network security review, seriously dealt with the security problems found in the review, and carried out comprehensive rectification. With the approval of the Network Security Review Office, the new user registration of “DiDi Chuxing” will resume immediately. In the future, the company will take effective measures to effectively guarantee the security of platform facilities and big data, and maintain national network security.”
Before the relaunch of user registration, existing users of the Didi app used it as long as they had it on their phones. With the resurgence, the company must comply with the heightened regulatory oversight over the ride-hailing industry. And Didi already promised in the Weibo post to take “effective measures.”
China finally eased off on Didi as the government sought to restore the private sector’s confidence. The country also hopes that the tech space will push the economy that has been impacted by the three years coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, many feared that Didi may have to deal with more than just a fine before it gets the green light to relaunch in China. While the Didi app was still banned, a Market Specialist at CGS-CIMB securities Singapore, Samuel Siew, commented:
“Prior to the conclusion of this, there were a lot of fears in markets that there would be more than just a fine. Now with its settling as just a fine, it’s lighter than what the possible implications were initially feared.”
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