Alibaba has been slammed with a $2.75 billion fine for reportedly violating anti-monopoly law. Regulators in China said the internet giant had abused its dominant market position for several years. The fine amounts to 4% of Alibaba’s revenue in 2019.
Responding to the fine, Alibaba said in a statement that the company has accepted the ruling and would “ensure its compliance”.
Analysts say the fine shows China intends to move against internet platforms that it thinks are too big. Regulators say Alibaba restricted competition by stopping some sellers from using other platforms.
It is the latest in a chain of events targeting the company that kicked off last October, just after its high-profile co-founder, Jack Ma, told a gathering of China’s leading regulators that they were stifling innovation.
Jack Ma is well-known in China as one of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs.
The country’s other tech giants are also coming under increasing pressure from regulators worried about their growing influence.
Last month 12 companies were fined over deals that violated anti-monopoly rules. The companies included Tencent, Baidu, Didi Chuxing, SoftBank, and a ByteDance-backed firm.
