Xi’s next target in tech crackdown is China’s vast reams of data

A staff member introduces Tencent’s Internet Data Center (IDC) cloud computing service in Shenzhen, Guangdong. China’s digital economy grew much faster than national gross domestic product in 2019, underscoring its significance to future growth, according to the Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology. — Reuters

As President Xi Jinping targets China’s massive tech giants, the big question now is how he’ll get them to share key data as part of a sweeping plan to transform the world’s second-biggest economy.

Until recently, China’s megafirms like Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd have operated in a similar way to US counterparts Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc, harnessing user data to refine an expanding array of digital services. Since more data leads to better products, the tech platforms often become natural monopolies – giving them enormous wealth and power that also opens the door for abuses.