China fines Didi Global $1.2 bln for violating data security laws

China's cybersecurity regulator said on Thursday it has fined Didi Global Inc 8.026 billion yuan ($1.19 billion), after a year-long probe found that the ride hailing giant had violated laws including ones pertaining to data security. Didi had illegally collected several pieces of user information over a seven-year period starting from June 2015, and also carried out data processing activities that seriously affected national security, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in statements.

China's cybersecurity regulator said on Thursday it has fined Didi Global Inc 8.026 billion yuan ($1.19 billion), after a year-long probe found that the ride hailing giant had violated laws including ones pertaining to data security.

Didi had illegally collected several pieces of user information over a seven-year period starting from June 2015, and also carried out data processing activities that seriously affected national security, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in statements. The company's founder and Chief Executive Cheng Wei and President Jean Liu were also fined 1 million yuan each, the CAC said.

"Didi's violations of laws and regulations are serious, and should be severely punished," it said. Didi said in a statement on its Weibo account that it accepted the CAC's decision and would conduct comprehensive self-examination and rectification.

The Cyberspace Administration of China started its inquiry shortly after the company listed on June 30, 2021. Didi ran afoul of the CAC when it pressed ahead with its U.S. initial public offering even though the regulator had urged the company to put it on hold while a cybersecurity review of its data practices was conducted, sources have told Reuters. ($1 = 6.7588 Chinese yuan renminbi)