Chinese ride-hailing company defends itself against data allegations

A Chinese rideshare company has hit out against data protection allegations. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A Chinese ride-hailing company has hit back against allegations about the quality of its data protection rules, which could impact the company's ability to operate in New Zealand.

Didi, often compared to a Chinese Uber (in fact, Uber owns a small stake in the company), has come under scrutiny in the United Kingdom and European Union over the strength of its data protection rules.

Last month, Didi scrapped its UK and European launches over those concerns, according to reports in The Daily Telegraph.

The Telegraph reported that staff working on the launch faced possible redundancy and the company stopped hiring.

In China, Didi was forced to take its app down from app stores and restricted its ability to sign up new users after a probe triggered by concerns about user data leaving China.

Bloomberg reported that the company was weighing up handing over some of its most valuable data in relation to the probe and to please Chinese regulators.

The options for handing over that data to other parties appear to have irked European regulators.

The company denies those allegations.

The company's Australia-based spokeswoman, with responsibility for Didi's New Zealand operations, said: "DiDi is fully compliant with all local regulations relating to privacy and data protection in New Zealand.

"We are fully committed to our users' privacy and have taken significant measures to ensure we can keep their data safe".

She said Didi was "proactive in creating and supporting processes to ensure rider and driver data is handled in a manner which is in compliance with the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020".

Ride-hailing companies are required to be licensed in New Zealand using a Transport Service License or TSL.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is in charge of issuing those licences.

A Waka Kotahi spokesman said that all rideshare companies need to have a TSL and a New Zealand-based representative who has been approved by Waka Kotahi.

They said data protocols were not assessed as part of a company's application for a TSL.

"Companies or individuals must be assessed as 'fit and proper' to be issued a TSL. While the fit and proper assessment looks at New Zealand or overseas criminal convictions and any history of transport-related offending, it doesn't include a specific data protocols check," said the spokesperson.

However, they added that if there were issues around the incorrect use of data, they could have an impact on the TSL.

"If Waka Kotahi received legitimate/substantiated complaints about data being incorrectly shared, they would be investigated, which could have an impact on the status of the TSL," the spokesperson said.

Didi operates only in Auckland in New Zealand, but it could expand in future, with the company saying it was "certainly open to expanding into additional New Zealand cities in the future".