Uber China released a statement to its Official Weibo account on Tuesday, in response to Tencent’s clearing of 168 Uber Official Accounts, reports Chinese tech media TechWeb.
The statement posted to Uber’s Weibo Official Account on Tuesday accuses Tencent of having made up excuses to block accounts permanently.
“Uber as of August. 6 had a Business Certificate for a Telecom Value-added Service issued by the People’s Republic of China,” the post reads.
Uber claims this is the very certificate mentioned previously as lacking by Pony Ma, in an earlier statement.
Pony Ma, Chair of Tencent Holdings, released a statement on Monday to his WeChat Moments, in response to WeChat’s alleged blocking of Uber’s Official Accounts, implying that Uber had run nationwide marketing activities without ICP permits on WeChat.
Uber dismisses the possibility that the account closures had any real impact on their business in the statement.
“WeChat was not the most important channel for Uber to communicate with users, but we, like everybody else, had wished it to be a transparent, regulated, fair and just platform.”
Uber adds, “Technology is human-oriented. Internet products are designed to provide a broader vision for users. Uber wants to endeavor together with peers to deliver a better user experience.”
More than a dozen Uber WeChat accounts representing Southern Chinese cities like Chengdu and Guangzhou, were reportedly blocked last Saturday. WeChat confirmed on Monday that they had cleared 168 Uber Official Accounts due to marketing ‘violations’.
