China's big technology firms are at each other's throats

The tussle for supremacy among China tech firms has continued. The two top firms in China have taken each other to court over monopolistic issues. 

Douyin takes Tencent to court

China is gradually having a crackdown on big tech businesses due to privacy issues and financial payments. However, two tech giants are having a go at one another. Douyin, a Chinese replica of big video application TikTok has sued Tencent (TCEHY) on Wednesday morning claiming that the social media platform is using its monopolistic advantage to ease out competitors. 

Douyin's owner, ByteDance, has also filed suit against Tencent's WeChat and QQ messaging application, saying that they stop their users from messages and videos from Douyin for over two years. This has been reported by several Chinese media reports which include Beijing daily who have also said that Douyin has asked Tencent to remove its content limitations and pay damages to the tune of 100 million yuan ($15 m). 

The statement from the firm reads

 '' We believe that rivalry is good for business all over the world. This is because it lets consumers have a choice and promote creativity'' A Douyin Spokesman said. ''

This lawsuit has been filed because we need to guard our rights and that our users''.  However, Tencent will have none of that as they fired a rebuttal giving indications of suing.

Tencent accuses Douyin of  data theft 

According to Tencent, it believes that Douyin has acquired WeChat members' data, which infringes on users' policy. These two tech companies have the highest market in the Chinese social media sector. Trenchant WeChat has about 1.4 million active members, while its app has about 750 million active users monthly.

For ByteDance, it doesn't have a known figure for this month but said it averaged about 650 million users in December 2020. There has always been an unhealthy rivalry between both tech firms since 2018 as they both feel the other has a biased competitive advantage.