Full Truck Alliance Photo: VCG

 

Chinese Cybersecurity Review Office said Monday that it will investigate job recruiting platform Boss Zhipin, and two commercial freight platforms under Full Truck Alliance, citing national security, which came on the heels that app stores were ordered to remove Didi Chuxing.

In order to address national data security risks, maintain national security, and protect public interests, cyber security reviews will be conducted in accordance with relevant laws for Boss Zhipin and truck-booking platforms Yunmanman and Huochebang under Full Truck Alliance, according to a notice posted by the Cybersecurity Review Office on Monday.

New user registration on the three platforms has been blocked during the review, it said.

In a reply to the Global Times on Monday, Full Truck Alliance said it will actively cooperate with any regulatory review and continue to accept the guidance and supervision of the regulatory authorities.

Kanzhun, the owner of Boss Zhipin, was listed in NASDAQ on June 11. Full Truck Alliance, the Chinese service similar to Uber Technologies that connects freight shippers and truck drivers, dubbed "Didi in the truck freight area," conducted an IPO in the US on June 22.

"These companies are now listed in the US. In this process, some important data and personal information held by the companies may be leaked due to US regulation. In other words, the listing in the US could lead to data's outbound security risks," Zuo Xiaodong, vice-president of the China Information Security Research Institute, told the Global Times on Monday.

Data security has elevated to a national security priority and its role as cornerstone for these firms and the economy should not be understated as data has become a new battleground for international race, said Liu Dingding, a Beijing-based independent tech analyst.

Liu believed that given the current situation, more Chinese firms that intend to list in the US, would have a second thought amid the country's tightening security on monopoly and data protection.

China's cyberspace regulator said on Sunday that it has ordered app stores to remove the nation's most widely used ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing, due to confirmed reports of "serious violations of law and regulation" in the collection and use of personal information. 

The move came just two days after the firm's massive US IPO.

Didi quickly responded to the Sunday announcement, saying it would strictly comply with the requirements and make improvements for a secured service.

Global Times