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China To Delay Tech Giants Regulation As Economy Slows

By  |  May 1, 2022

China is preparing to hit pause on its monthslong campaign against technology companies, according to people familiar with the matter, as officials seek to arrest a rapid deterioration in the country’s economic outlook.

China’s top internet regulator is set to meet next week with the country’s embattled tech giants to discuss the regulatory campaign, according to the people, who described the meeting as a sign that officials acknowledge the toll the regulations have had on the private sector at a time when China’s economic outlook is increasingly clouded due to strict Covid measures.

Regulators are planning to hold off on new rules that limit the time young people spend on mobile apps, according to one of the people, while another person said that Beijing is considering pushing some of its biggest tech companies to offer 1% equity stakes to the state and give the government a direct role in corporate decisions.

The government has already taken 1% stakes in internet-content companies such as ByteDance Ltd., the owner of buzzy short-video platform TikTok, and Weibo  operator of the eponymous Twitter-like microblogging platform.

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