ByteDance Fires 100 Employees, Big Tech Fights Corruption, Key in "Opening Up"

Economic Commentator, Fu Ke You

Big Tech's anti-corruption efforts are an ongoing saga, with the latest episode being ByteDance's September 4th announcement that it had fired 100 employees for violating company rules. Among them, 18 individuals were named and shamed for serious offenses such as criminal behavior or malicious damage to the company's interests, while 8 others were referred to law enforcement agencies. At the same time, their industry associations have revoked their professional certifications.

ByteDance has been releasing similar anti-corruption reports consistently over the past few quarters. Data shows that in 2024, ByteDance fired a total of 353 employees for violating company rules and referred 39 individuals to law enforcement agencies for criminal prosecution.

This is not an isolated case. According to media reports, Tencent has been releasing anti-corruption investigation reports every year for the past six years, with over 390 cases of violations of "high-pressure lines" discovered and 550 individuals fired. JD.com reported 221 cases of corruption in 2024, including commercial bribery and job-related misconduct.

All these instances show that corruption has become a widespread problem affecting many internet companies. This not only poses a threat to the health and development of these companies but also has negative consequences for the entire economy and society.

As the saying goes, "family secrets should not be aired publicly." Many big tech companies have taken the initiative to "expose their own flaws," showing their determination to combat corruption.

However, this kind of "open declaration" of big tech's anti-corruption efforts still has two major issues: first, it is an internal effort that only checks itself; second, the process is not transparent enough. More importantly, despite the annual reports being released, the number and severity of cases have not decreased, leaving one wondering whether this is a sign that big tech has not yet thoroughly eliminated the root cause of corruption.

Why does big tech's corruption problem stand out so much? The root cause lies in "big." Big tech companies rely on resources to build high walls. Platform-type companies, with their scale effects, convert public domain traffic, data, and entry qualifications into valuable and scarce resources. When these companies have control over commercial registration, traffic allocation, and subsidies, they essentially have the space to engage in "power-seeking rent-seeking."

How can big tech promote anti-corruption efforts? The key is in "opening up." Sunshine is the best disinfectant. Through "opening up," we can penetrate the space for power-seeking rent-seeking and let black market transactions have nowhere to hide.

"Opening Up" Big Tech

Wanting to open up big tech, one must "open up" industry chains, break down closed loops, and introduce competitive mechanisms. After years of development, some big tech companies have formed a vast and sophisticated ecosystem, with various supporting systems in place. Various internal transactions and self-looping are frequent, creating an environment conducive to corruption. For example, the former employee of Kuaishou responsible for reviewing service providers' applications, awards policies, and execution, etc., exploited loopholes and data breaches to rake in profits of 1.4 billion yuan.

"Opening Up" Big Tech

In this situation, anti-corruption efforts require breaking down closed loops, introducing competitive mechanisms, and pushing industry chains to the market, allowing resources to flow freely. This way, those in charge of approval processes will find it difficult to monopolize decision-making, and rent-seeking spaces will naturally shrink.

The procurement process has long been a high-risk area for big tech companies. Due to the lack of a perfect bidding mechanism, various "under-the-table" and "serial" behaviors persist. For example, the former executive at Ele.me, along with two others, used their powers to help numerous suppliers obtain logistics delivery qualifications and received bribes totaling over 40 million yuan.

To avoid such situations, big tech companies need to promote transparency in key business processes – including bidding information, evaluation standards, cooperative partner credentials, bid results, etc. – and accept internal and external reviews. Companies should let power operate in the sun, with every decision-making process traceable, verifiable, and accountable.

"Opening Up" Big Tech

Currently, big tech companies have established powerful internal supervision mechanisms. For example, Alibaba has set up the Integrity and Compliance Department. Jack Ma said, "Alibaba's everyone can be checked by the Integrity and Compliance Department, including me." Tencent has established its anti-corruption investigation department, ByteDance has set up the Enterprise Ethics and Professional Conduct Committee, Meituan has its "Six Major Cases" team, and Baidu has its Professional Ethics Committee. JD.com has its internal control and compliance department.

Although these institutions are highly ranked within companies, they may not be able to achieve a perfect system of accountability. These top-down and inside-out supervision mechanisms may not be able to prevent corruption from occurring in the first place. For example, an employee at Alibaba's e-commerce platform responsible for reviewing official flagship store applications, Wang, used his powers to approve hundreds of millions of yuan worth of transactions, making him a "small official with a huge fortune." This is exactly where big tech companies' single internal supervision system has failed. Therefore, big tech anti-corruption efforts require the construction of a multi-faceted supervision system, such as introducing professional third-party auditors, allowing judicial intervention in advance, and opening up channels for employee and public reporting.

Sunshine is the best disinfectant. As industry chains become more market-oriented, bidding processes more transparent, and supervisory bodies more diverse, rent-seeking spaces will naturally shrink, and big tech anti-corruption efforts can achieve greater effectiveness.

Daily Economic News