The Chinese Supreme Court has called for stricter regulation and punishment of China’s huge Internet platforms when it comes to anti-competitive business practices and big data abuses.
On 29 October the Supreme Court issued the “Opinions Concerning Strengthening Assessment Work of Intellectual Property Rights in a New Era and Providing Vigorous Judicial Services and Protections for the Creation of a Great Intellectual Property Rights Power” (关于加强新时代知识产权审判工作为知识产权强国建设提供有力司法服务和保障的意见).
The Opinions call for strengthening anti-trust law and laws against inappropriate competition, as well as strengthening laws and regulations in relation to monopolistic conduct by Internet platforms.
They specifically call for “strict punishment” of Internet platforms that employ exclusive, mandatory agreements with vendors, as well as “big data profiteering” (大数据杀), which the Court says “destroy fair competition and disrupts the market order.”
The Opinions also call for strengthening intellectual property rights in emerging areas of technology, with an especial focus on big data, artificial intelligence and genetics.
