He argued that tech companies like his needed to be large, if only to fend off challenges from the Asian giant and its ever-more-powerful government-controlled companies. In the past few weeks, China’s government has moved against Didi, the country’s homegrown flagship ride-sharing company. It had a spectacular Wall Street debut in late June, which caused government leaders in Beijing to take a shiv to its fast-moving tires almost immediately by halting new-user sign-ups and taking Didi off app stores. You certainly can make the same accusations worldwide about the abuses of personal data by tech giants, especially in the United States. But the twin forces of taking total control and allowing innovation to roam are colliding in much more troubling and malevolent ways in China.

Source: International New York Times July 20, 2021 09:00 UTC