China directs 33 apps to stop collecting users' data

Citing complaints from users, the Cyberspace Administration of China listed 33 mobile apps for allegedly breaching various regulatory rules, reports ZDNet.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement on Saturday that these apps had breached local regulations, primarily, for capturing personal data that were not relevant to their service.

The agency said "operators of the apps were found to have infringed the rules after authorities assessed several popular apps, including map navigation apps".

Among the list are apps from Sogou, Baidu, Tencent, QQ, and Zhejiang Jianxin Technology.

The Chinese government has ramped up efforts to crack down on the increasing influence of tech companies and safeguard consumers' rights.

Chinese regulators last month slapped a record fine of 18.2 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) on e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding.

According to South China Morning Post (owned by Alibaba), the fine on Ma's company by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) was more than double the previous record of 6.1 billion yuan paid by chip-maker Qualcomm.

The fine was imposed on Alibaba for violating anti-monopoly rules as the country seeks to rein in the power of internet conglomerates.

In November last year, China proposed sweeping antitrust regulations targeting its tech industry.