Controversies

Cybersecurity penalty

The Cyberspace Administration of China announced an 8.026 billion yuan fine against DiDi and separate fines against Cheng Wei and Jean Liu for cybersecurity-law violations.

Cybersecurity and data-governance investigation

Chinese regulators investigated DiDi shortly after its US listing and ordered its apps removed from domestic app stores, citing concerns about personal-information collection and data security.

Hu Xiaozhu platform fined over COVID-19 prevention measures

Fine or penalty

In January 2021, Beijing authorities reported that the Hu Xiaozhu ride-hailing platform, associated with Didi, had 12 enforcement cases for failing to implement COVID-19 prevention measures. The platform was fined RMB 340,000 in connection with these cases. The report identified shortcomings in the platform's implementation of pandemic prevention requirements as the basis for the enforcement actions.

Stated objective. Maintain drivers’ rights and help create a fair and trustworthy ride-hailing environment.

China's market regulator investigates Didi over antitrust concerns

Investigation

In June 2021, China's State Administration for Market Regulation was reported to be investigating Didi over possible conduct that unfairly excluded smaller competitors and over the transparency of pricing in Didi's core ride-hailing business. Didi said it would not comment on what it described as baseless speculation by anonymous sources. The reports concerned antitrust concerns; no outcome of the reported investigation was stated in the available account.

Didi responds to criticism over ride-hailing commissions

Company response

After public criticism of ride-hailing commission levels and the lack of clarity about how they are calculated, Didi said it accepted the criticism and would continue working to make platform charges and pricing more transparent. Didi also said 2.7% of orders had commissions above 30%.

Didi files lawsuit over livestream incident

Lawsuit filed

Didi stated that it submitted lawsuit materials to the Beijing Internet Court against the livestream platform and the individuals who produced and participated in the livestream. The company said it sought to hold these parties legally responsible and to protect the reputation of Didi and its drivers. The statement did not specify further details of the claims or the identities of the parties involved.

Didi said it submitted lawsuit materials to the Beijing Internet Court against the livestream platform and people who made and participated in the livestream, seeking to hold them legally responsible and protect the reputation of Didi and its drivers.

Didi announced a supplier reporting window for business misconduct

Issue disclosure

Didi announced a one-month window for suppliers involved in misconduct in business dealings with the company to report it. Didi said it had investigated bribery, corruption, fraud, and management failures across multiple departments and business lines, and had so far identified four people for accepting supplier benefits, abusing authority, or failing to act.

Didi revises trial service hours after criticism of carpooling rules

Company response

Didi announced a revision to its carpooling trial rules after receiving feedback, setting service hours for all users to 5:00–20:00. The announcement apologized for the previous rule, which set different service hours for female and male users.

Hitch passenger murders and safety failures

Two female passengers were murdered by drivers in separate incidents involving DiDi’s Hitch service. The events triggered intense criticism of driver screening, emergency response and platform governance, and led to the suspension of Hitch and a company-wide safety overhaul.