Regulators are throwing the book at SEA tech players that don’t go by it

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Hello reader,

I’m not sure if it’s because of how I was brought up or if it’s an innate part of me, but I’ve always abided by the rules. I’m not a stickler for them, but I never strayed far from the policies at school or work.

(Unless it was something dumb like “don’t play football in the void deck after school,” which is a completely victimless infringement.)

I think there’s also a part of me that thinks it’s more clever – and therefore more exhilarating and satisfying – to find a loophole and exploit it. Sometimes, following the letter rather than the spirit of the law can be oddly more infuriating to opponents.

Regulators in the tech world, however, might not be so good-humored in responding to such techniques, if the number of crackdowns in the last few years are any measure. Today’s premium article focuses on some high-profile cases, why they happened, and what a more regulated tech industry could look like.

Today we look at:

• The long arm of the law catching up to tech firms
• Job cuts at ShopBack that affected 24% of its staff
• Other newsy highlights such as GoTo’s profitable quarter and new startup-focused funds in Singapore and India

Premium summary

Rules are meant to be… followed?

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Are you in favor or against more regulation of tech? As someone who’s more of a consumer and observer rather than a practitioner of tech, I’m actually gonna be a goody-two-shoes and say that I welcome more regulation.

I mean, if the Grab and Uber merger had been prevented, we’d all probably still be paying below S$20 for taxi rides.

But of course, more rules also means constraints on tech’s growth. It might be simply a case of picking the lesser poison.

• Politics, politics, politics: A lot of the clampdowns are politically motivated. The Chinese government, for example, is prioritizing “political and security concerns over rapid economic growth,” while similar moves in India and the US came shortly before election season.
• Fines aren’t fine: Historically, fines alone have not been enough to deter rich tech companies from behaving badly, thus leading to calls for stiffer penalties. Case in point: The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) decided to scrutinize Grab’s proposed Trans-cab acquisition a second time, even after the super app made unspecified commitments to address the regulator’s concerns.
• Leveling the playing field: In the short term, other tech companies may benefit from the travails faced by their peers. In December 2023, online retailer JD.com won a lawsuit against Alibaba, which was found to have abused its market dominance by adopting a “choose one from two” exclusivity policy that forced sellers to list products on Alibaba exclusively. In the same vein, preventing Grab from increasing its ride-hailing market share via acquisitions may benefit smaller players such as Tada, Bolt, and Be Group, which are trying to scale their presence.

Cutbacks at ShopBack

On April 24, learn practical insights to take on the ongoing tech winter

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