Chinaโs Siri Plunges as Trump Casts Wider Net Over Tech Firms โ Bloomberg
What happened: Shares of Shenzhen-listed voice recognition firm Iflytek plunged by nearly 10% after news broke that the US is considering curbs on the company, along with several other Chinese tech companies, following Washingtonโs Huawei offensive. Also facing scrutiny are artificial intelligence company Megvii, data firm Meiya, and security camera makers Hikvision and Dahua.
Why itโs important: The Trump administration is casting a wider net in targeting companies affiliated with Chinaโs vast surveillance network. Iflytek says it controls more than 70% of Chinaโs speech recognition market with its technology being used in everything from consumer devices to the countryโs courtrooms. The offensive comes after the US last week put Huawei on a trade blacklist, which forms one of a list of measures to temper Chinaโs influence on technology around the world. Trump is now targeting companies with involvement in Chinaโs surveillance apparatus, a system that has caused concern across the globe.
