The popular Alibaba search engine “UC Browser” has been removed from Chinese app stores, according to The Financial Times.
The decision to pull the search engine comes after President Xi Jinping and other top members of the Chinese Communist Party met Monday and warned of more crackdowns on technology, according to the report.
“Some platform companies are growing in an inappropriate manner and therefore bear risks. It is a considerable problem that the current regulatory regime has failed to adjust,” read the minutes of the meeting. (RELATED: Chinese Billionaire Jack Ma Resurfaces After Disappearing For Months During CCP Investigation)
Weifeng Zhong, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, told FOX Business, “The real reason behind the crackdown is … the conglomerate’s growing influence in various aspects of Chinese people’s lives.”
Chinese internet companies have pulled an Alibaba internet browser from their app stores after President Xi Jinping warned that a crackdown on big tech companies was just beginning https://t.co/D42ioWeVbR
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) March 16, 2021
The decision to pull the search engine from app stores was allegedly due to criticism from the Chinese state television show’s annual consumer rights show, according to Reuters.
“We will further strengthen the supervision mechanism and sense of responsibility of the platform and provide users with high-quality information services with more stringent standards. We urge users to continue to supervise us,” UC said, according to Reuters.