Pull the plug on internet monopolies

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WeChat is China's most popular mobile text and voice messaging communication service developed by Tencent. [Photo/IC]

IN AUGUST 2012, THE DOMESTIC SOCIAL MEDIA APP WECHAT opened a new function called "public accounts" that allows registered users to publish their articles. Those who read an article on a public account can choose to make a payment to the writer as token of their appreciation for the writer's efforts. However, since Wednesday, users can no longer pay the bonus on iPhones or iPads because Apple insists that such payments must be done via Apple's in-app purchase feature. An editorial on thepaper.cn comments:

Apple is suspected of abusing its leading position in the market, which is against the Anti-Monopoly Law. According to phonearena.com, a smartphone big data company, Apple's iOS operating system had 38.58 percent of the global market share by the end of 2015; there is no exact data about that in China, but doubtlessly Apple has the leading share.

The Anti-Monopoly Law forbids companies with leading positions in the market from requiring a trading party to trade exclusively with itself. By asking users to pay the bonus via IAP, which is an Apple product, the company is suspected of having broken the law.

A closer look at the market shows that Tencent, the owner of WeChat, has also committed many similar deeds. By October 2016, the number of WeChat's registered users reached 806 million, making it an absolute monopoly in the social software market. However, it excludes other companies, too. For example, it blocks users from sending each other links to Alibaba's online trading platform.

It is the monopolistic deeds of Apple, Tencent, and other digital giants that divide China's internet market. It is time the authorities more strictly enforced the Anti-Monopoly Law.