How Didi’s $1.2B Fine Complicates the Narrative Around China’s Biometric Surveillance

Chinese ride-hailing app Didi has been fined $1.2 billion by state regulators for data privacy and security violations, complicating Western political narratives that have led to warnings about China-made apps like TikTok and their data harvesting practices.

The 8 billion yuan fine came down on Didi care of the Cyberspace Administration of China, which determined that Didi had violated multiple laws with practices including the collection of 107 million facial recognition profiles, the capture of 12 million screenshots from customers’ smartphone photo albums, and collecting relationship information concerning users’ families.

In addition to the overarching fine, the Cyberspace Administration of China dinged Didi President Jean Liu and Chairman Cheng Wei about $148,000 each.

It’s an awkward and, in some respects, confusing development in the context of discussions about the threat of Chinese surveillance practices in parts of the West.