Difference between revisions of "Alibaba"

From SI410
Jump to: navigation, search
 
(45 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 2: Line 2:
 
{{SoftwareInfoBox
 
{{SoftwareInfoBox
 
|HEIGHT=550
 
|HEIGHT=550
|NAME=Riot Games
+
|NAME=Alibaba
|LOGO=Riotlogo.png
+
|LOGO=Alibaba.png
|SCREENIMAGE=Riotheadquarters.jpeg
+
|SCREENIMAGE=alibabahq.jpeg
|CAPTION="Riot Games' Logo and Headquarters"
+
|CAPTION="Alibaba Logo"
|IMAGEURL=http://www.riotgames.com/
+
|IMAGEURL=https://www.alibaba.com/
 
|TEXT=Site
 
|TEXT=Site
|PRODUCT=[[League of Legends]]<br>[[Valorant]]<br>Arcane
+
|PRODUCT=[[E-commerce]]<br>[[Technology]]<br>Retail
|PLATFORM=Mac<br>Windows
+
|PLATFORM=Cloud Service<br>Android Tablet<br>Android App<br>iOs App
|TYPE=Corporation
+
|TYPE=Technology company
|SITEURL=http://www.riotgames.com
+
|SITEURL=https://www.alibaba.com/
|URLTEXT=www.riotgames.com
+
|URLTEXT=www.alibaba.com/
 
|STATUS=Active
 
|STATUS=Active
|LAUNCH=2009
+
|LAUNCH=1999
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
'''{{initial|A}}libaba Group Holding Limited, or Alibaba,''' is a Chinese multinational online ecommerce and technology company. Over the last year alone, Alibaba's online sites totaled $248 billion in transactions, making the website one of the fastest growing ecommerce stores.<ref>WSJ.com News Graphics. (2019). What is Alibaba? The Wall Street Journal. https://graphics.wsj.com/alibaba/</ref> Further, an estimated 80% of the Chinese online commerce markets is controlled by the Alibaba Group.<ref>WSJ.com News Graphics. (2019). What is Alibaba? The Wall Street Journal. https://graphics.wsj.com/alibaba/</ref> The website was founded in 1999 by Jack Ma and 17 others in Hangzhou, China. Since the platform was open to everyone who had access to the Internet, the founders' philosophy was that the website would allow smaller companies and technological innovation to thrive in global markets.<ref>Alibaba Group. (2019). Alibabagroup.com. https://www.alibabagroup.com/en/about/history</ref> Alibaba, in addition to maintaining Alibaba.com, also owns taobao.com and tmall.com, both widely used online shopping stores by the Chinese customer base.<ref>Broad, M. (2014, September 14). What exactly is Alibaba? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-29077495‌</ref> Alibaba makes the majority of its revenue through hosting advertisements on its websites.<ref>Broad, M. (2014, September 14). What exactly is Alibaba? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-29077495</ref>
 +
 
 +
Alibaba ranks 23rd on Forbes' Global 2000 2021 list, and 11th on the same magazine's Top 100 Digital Companies 2019.<ref>Alibaba Group. (2021, May 13). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/companies/alibaba-group/?sh=7da42ff619f5</ref> The Alibaba Group made an estimated $200 billion yuan in the 3rd quarter of 2021, equivalent to about $31 million in USD.<ref>Alibaba Group Announces September Quarter 2021 Results. (2021, November 18). Finance.yahoo.com. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/alibaba-group-announces-september-quarter-112400052.html</ref> Although recently, Alibaba has hit a decline in terms of profit, with the adjusted amount for the month of November 2021 being 28.52 billion. This 39% decline in profit was the company's first in 22 quarters. <ref>Qu, T. (2021, November 18). Alibaba sees first adjusted profit decline in five years. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3156560/alibaba-net-income-plummets-87-cent-resulting-first-adjusted-profit</ref>
 +
 
 +
The technology company has been at the center of multiple ethical concerns. Alibaba has a reputation for hosting numerous counterfeit sellers on their websites, with an estimated 70% of all counterfeit goods originating from China.<ref>Doggett, J. (2017, May 6). Why American Companies Can’t Trust Alibaba. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2017/05/06/alibaba-jack-ma-donald-trump-owner-group-china/</ref> Because millions of Chinese workers produce large quantities of counterfeit goods, the Chinese government abstains from persecuting the counterfeiting issue. In 2021, the Chinese government took steps in regulating Alibaba by issuing a $2.8 billion fine for violating anti-monopoly regulations. In response, the Alibaba Group did not deny the accusation, and resolved to paying the 18 billion yuan fine, 4% of Alibaba's total sales in 2019.<ref>Moore, E. (2021, April 10). China Fines Alibaba $2.8 Billion For Breaking Anti-Monopoly Law. NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/2021/04/10/986112628/china-fines-alibaba-2-8-billion-for-breaking-anti-monopoly-law</ref> Most recently, the ecommerce company is under fire for sexual misconduct allegations after a female employee wrote an 11-page essay detailing her experiences with assault in the firm.<ref>Li, J. (2021, September 8). A rape allegation at Alibaba has prompted an outpouring in China about toxic work culture. Quartz. https://qz.com/2044385/alibaba-rape-allegation-prompts-reflection-on-toxic-work-culture/</ref>
 +
 
 +
==History==
 +
The founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, was born on September 10th, 1964.<ref>O’Connell, B. (2019, October 30). History of Alibaba: Timeline and Facts. TheStreet. https://www.thestreet.com/world/history-of-alibaba-15145103</ref> Ma had originally wanted to become an English teacher, but after securing a teacher position and failing to attend Harvard University, he recognized a hole in the Chinese ecommerce market. Starting with $35 million, Jack and his group of 18 technological pioneers created Alibaba. Two years later, in December 2001, Alibaba.com surpassed 1 million registered users.<ref>Alibaba Group. (n.d.). Www.alibabagroup.com. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.alibabagroup.com/en/about/history?year=2001</ref> Eventually funded with more venture capital, the Alibaba Group added more websites to their roster like Taobao.com, Ali Wangwang (a messaging application that made it easier to look up consumer goods), and Alipay. Later on in 2005, Alibaba was allowed to partner with the United States web service provider, Yahoo.<ref>O’Connell, B. (2019, October 30). History of Alibaba: Timeline and Facts. TheStreet. https://www.thestreet.com/world/history-of-alibaba-15145103</ref> In 2007, Alibaba launched a monetization platform, Alimama. Two years after, the Alibaba Group established their own cloud services provider, Alibaba Cloud. The arrival of the Alibaba Cloud service also marked the company's tenth anniversary.<ref>Alibaba Group. (n.d.). Www.alibabagroup.com. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.alibabagroup.com/en/about/history?year=2009</ref> 2010 noted some of the first instances of U.S. businesses displaying products on the Alibaba website, including Ray Ban and Gap.<ref>O’Connell, B. (2019, October 30). History of Alibaba: Timeline and Facts. TheStreet. https://www.thestreet.com/world/history-of-alibaba-15145103</ref> Since the company's conception, Jack Ma has stepped down as CEO of the group, as well as from his chairman position in 2019.<ref>Liberto, D. (2019, October 9). Jack Ma Steps Down As Alibaba Celebrates 20 Years. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/news/alibabas-jack-ma-step-down-year/</ref> In his place, current CEO of the Alibaba Group, Daniel Zhang, will take his place as chairman. As recently as November 2019, the Alibaba Group was listed on the Main Board of Hong Kong's stock exchange.<ref>Alibaba Group(2019b). Alibabagroup.com. https://www.alibabagroup.com/en/about/history?year=2019</ref>
 +
[[File:Jackma.jpg|thumb|Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma]]
 +
 
 +
==Website==
 +
The main website, Alibaba.com, presents a wide array of products available to buy in bulk, ranging from consumer electronics to food and beverages. Alibaba.com is a global business to business marketplace where buyers can contact sellers to purchase their desired goods. Because Alibaba.com is B2B facing, many buyers on the website are commonly wholesalers or manufacturers that are buying bulk materials and goods from other businesses.<ref>How to buy and source from Alibaba. (2020, December 15). Alibaba.com Seller Central. https://seller.alibaba.com/businessblogs/px65f6s8-how-to-buy-and-source-from-alibaba‌</ref> Included on the website and available to sellers are tools used for global sourcing. One of these tools is automatic translation of messages on one's storefront. Buyers can send messages to a seller in one language, and the text of the return message will be automatically translated and sent back. The marketplace also has a currency conversion tools that functions similarly, so consumers and suppliers do not have to manually calculate currency differences.<ref>How to buy and source from Alibaba. (2020, December 15). Alibaba.com Seller Central. https://seller.alibaba.com/businessblogs/px65f6s8-how-to-buy-and-source-from-alibaba‌</ref>
 +
[[File:Alibabawebsite.png|thumb|The Alibaba Group logo]]
 +
 
 +
==Affiliated Companies==
 +
===Internet Messaging and Services===
 +
Founded in 2003 by the Alibaba Group, Taobao.com is a large, Chinese, online retail platform. The website allows businesses and individual consumers to contact each other to buy goods across China and globally. Ali Wangwang was also developed by the Alibaba Group to provide a medium for buyers and sellers to reach agreements regarding the sale of products on Taobao.com. According to a research study conducted by Jie Gao and Zhenghua Zhang in 2011, around ninety-nine percent of buyers on Taobao.com reported using Ali Wangwang to communicate with sellers before making a purchase on the website. Additionally, more than 77% of buyers on Taobao.com used Ali Wangwang to contact sellers before every transaction they made.<ref>Gao, Jie & Zhang, Zhenghua. (2011). User Satisfaction of Ali Wangwang, an Instant Messenger Tool. 414-420. 10.1007/978-3-642-21708-1_47.</ref> The same study found that privacy and safety concerns involved with Ali Wangwang affected user satisfaction with the messaging platform. Chinese users who were satisfied with the service said that they received less spam messages and had less privacy concerns than those who were dissatisfied with the service. Those who said that they received spam messages and were tolerant of them likened them to the way retailers make cold calls to consumers, as they were often advertisements by sellers on Taobao.com.<ref>Gao, Jie & Zhang, Zhenghua. (2011). User Satisfaction of Ali Wangwang, an Instant Messenger Tool. 414-420. 10.1007/978-3-642-21708-1_47.</ref>
 +
 
 +
===Cloud Computing===
 +
Alibaba Cloud was founded in 2009 and is a subsidiary of the Alibaba Group. Three years after Amazon created Amazon Web Services (AWS), Alibaba introduced a cloud computing service called Aliyun. In 2015, they would later rebrand to Alibaba Cloud. The service, including both cloud computing and artificial intelligence, provides for thousands of businesses, government, and other organizations across over 200 countries.<ref>Why Alibaba Cloud? Global Emerging Technologies Redefining the Digital World. (2017). Alibabacloud.com. https://www.alibabacloud.com/about</ref> Alibaba Cloud's international headquarters is located in Singapore, and the subsidiary has operational teams located in Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris, San Mateo, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo.<ref>Crunchbase. (2022). Crunchbase. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/alibaba-cloud</ref>. Per the Alibaba Cloud website, the service is ranked number one in Asia Pacific, number one in China, and number three in the world amongst cloud service providers.<ref>Why Alibaba Cloud? Global Emerging Technologies Redefining the Digital World. (2017). Alibabacloud.com. https://www.alibabacloud.com/about</ref>
 +
 
 +
===Entertainment and Media===
 +
In 2016, Alibaba acquired the remaining stake of Youku Todou Inc, a Chinese-based video hosting platform, for $4.4 billion.<ref>Johnston, M. (2019). 10 Companies Owned by Alibaba. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/insights/10-companies-owned-alibaba/ ‌</ref> As of December 17, the video hosting platform had an estimated 374 million monthly users, according to QuestMobile figures (a China-based big data services provider).<ref>Davila, D. (2020). Youku Tudou vs. YouTube: A Financial Comparison (YOKU, GOOG). Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/053016/youku-tudou-vs-youtube-financial-comparison-yoku-goog.asp</ref> In 2018, Alibaba's digital media and entertainment division experienced a 20% yearly growth in revenue since their purchase of Youku. Since 2018, Alibaba has not released figures about Youku's average daily subscriber growth.<ref>Davila, D. (2020). Youku Tudou vs. YouTube: A Financial Comparison (YOKU, GOOG). Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/053016/youku-tudou-vs-youtube-financial-comparison-yoku-goog.asp</ref>
 +
 
 +
==Ethical Issues==
 +
===Environmental Flaws===
 +
In 2013 Jack Ma, former CEO of the Alibaba Group, said that he believes that the pollution in China should be reformed. In an article in the Harvard Business Review, Ma said that a new goal for Alibaba was to help China revitalize its environment and to help resolve water, air, and food security issues.<ref>Ma, J. (2013, November 11). Jack Ma on Taking Back China’s Blue Skies. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2013/11/jack-ma-on-taking-back-chinas-blue-skies</ref> Alibaba and its logistics child company, Cainiao, have attempted to move towards environmentally friendly packaging techniques in the past, including using biodegradable plastics. Coming from the Western-targeted online magazine Sixth Tone in 2017, a toxics campaigner at Beijing's Greenpeace, Liu Hua, argued that the biodegradable plastics that Cainiao intended to roll out by 2020 would only biodegrade under specific circumstances.<ref>Wang Lianzhang. (2016). Environmentalists Criticize Alibaba’s “Green” Packaging. Sixth Tone. https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1001165/environmentalists-criticize-alibabas-green-packaging</ref> The criteria involved in order for the packaging materials to biodegrade would lead to most of the packaging remaining in place in landfills. Cainiao's promotional material explained that the green materials will biodegrade in 180 days. Though, according to a researcher at the Rock Environment and Energy Institute in Beijing, Mao Da, the materials would only biodegrade in 180 days in a composting plant, of which are few in China.<ref>Wang Lianzhang. (2016). Environmentalists Criticize Alibaba’s “Green” Packaging. Sixth Tone. https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1001165/environmentalists-criticize-alibabas-green-packaging</ref>
 +
 
 +
===Sexual Assault and Harassment===
 +
In the past year, the Alibaba Group has been the focus of a sexual assault allegation. In August 2021, Alibaba received an 11-page document that explained how on a business trip, a female employee was forced to drink and then was sexually assaulted by her boss. The allegations were met with surprise by Alibaba employees, as around a third of Alibaba executives are women and because the company claims it has an efficient HR system which maintains staff identity along the values of Alibaba.<ref>Chen, Y., & Mak, R. (2021, August 9). Alibaba’s #MeToo scandal is warning for China tech. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/alibabas-metoo-scandal-is-warning-china-tech-2021-08-09/</ref> While the individual who was said to have committed the act was let go, there was no ongoing criminal case against him. In December 2021, an article came out on BBC that reported that the woman who had made the allegations was fired the month prior. In her termination letter, it said that she spread misinformation regarding the events of the business trip and about the steps the company took in response. Per the same article, the man who was accused of rape admitted that he had engaged in sexual activity with her while she was inebriated. While the Chinese government dropped the case, the man who allegedly sexually assaulted the Alibaba employee, Mr. Zhang, was placed under arrest by prosecutors.<ref>Alibaba fires woman who claimed sexual assault. (2021, December 12). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-59627131</ref>
 +
 
 +
===Counterfeit Goods===
 +
While Jack Ma has made it known that he is against the sale of counterfeit goods, the Alibaba Group has had numerous instances of exporting counterfeit products. Taobao, owned by Alibaba, was classified by the United States as a "notorious market," meaning that it is in strong violation of world IP, trademark, and copyright laws.<ref>Shepard, W. (2018, January 26). Alibaba’s Taobao Is Once Again Branded A “Notorious Market” For Counterfeit Goods. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2018/01/26/if-beijing-listened-to-jack-ma-hed-be-going-to-jail/?sh=5e3d637249e3</ref> Craig Crosby, a publisher of The Counterfeit Report, disclosed that his firm removed 18 million cases of infringing goods and that Alibaba's counterfeit regulatory program is exceedingly arduous for rights holders to navigate and persecute.<ref>Shepard, W. (2018, January 26). Alibaba’s Taobao Is Once Again Branded A “Notorious Market” For Counterfeit Goods. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2018/01/26/if-beijing-listened-to-jack-ma-hed-be-going-to-jail/?sh=5e3d637249e3</ref> Alibaba has also recently taken steps to mitigate some of the counterfeit luxury goods that are available on its website. Using an AI platform developed in the Alibaba Turing lab, the company is able to determine counterfeit logos of luxury goods in approximately 30-50 milliseconds, scanning from a database of 13.7 billion pictures.<ref>Alibaba’s AI platform recognizes counterfeit luxury products sold online amid booming industry in China - Global Times. (2021). Globaltimes.cn. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202105/1223967.shtml?id=11 ‌</ref>
 +
 
 +
===Security Breaches===
 +
In November 2019, a software developer web-scraped Alibaba's shopping platform, Taobao.com, for eight months. This resulted in over 1.1 billion pieces of user information and data being collected before Alibaba was able to notice the scraping.<ref>Lin, Y. J. and L. (2021, June 16). Alibaba Falls Victim to Chinese Web Crawler in Large Data Leak. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/alibaba-falls-victim-to-chinese-web-crawler-in-large-data-leak-11623774850 ‌</ref> The information that was gathered included user IDs, mobile phone numbers, and customer comments. The People's Court of Suiyang District presided over the crime, stating that two criminals (the software developer and his employer) were involved. After a formal police investigation commenced, both individuals were sentenced to imprisonment for over three years and were fined one hundred thousand and three hundred fifty thousand yuan for infringing on personal information.<ref>Marzouk, Z. (2021, June 21). Alibaba data breach exposes 1.1 billion pieces of data. IT PRO. https://www.itpro.com/security/data-breaches/359897/alibaba-data-breach-exposes-11-billion-pieces-of-data</ref>
 +
 
 +
Alibaba's cloud services have also been probed for potential security concerns. The U.S. presidential administration has recently launched an investigation into Alibaba Cloud, focused on its data storage practices for U.S. clients. The investigation is based around the potential for the Chineses government to gain access to U.S. personal information and intellectual property.<ref>Tripathi, D. (2022, January 18). Alibaba Slips on Report US Probing Cloud Business for Security Risks. Www.yahoo.com. https://www.yahoo.com/now/alibaba-slips-report-us-probing-065430057.html</ref> In Alibaba's 2021 annual report, there were concerns flagged surrounding the platform's U.S. operations. The Chinese company said that U.S. individuals with whom they have contracts or other relationships with may be forbidden from continuing business, including the use of their cloud computing services.<ref>Tripathi, D. (2022, January 18). Alibaba Slips on Report US Probing Cloud Business for Security Risks. Www.yahoo.com. https://www.yahoo.com/now/alibaba-slips-report-us-probing-065430057.html</ref>
 +
 
 +
===Facial Recognition===
 +
[[File:Cloud.png|thumb|Alibaba Cloud Service]]
 +
The Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has developed facial recognition software that specifically targeted Uighur members of China. The U.S. video surveillance information source, IPVM, reported that face detection technology existed within Alibaba's Cloud Shield service.<ref>Davidson, H. (2020, December 17). Alibaba offered clients facial recognition to identify Uighur people, report reveals. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/17/alibaba-offered-clients-facial-recognition-to-identify-uighur-people</ref> The facial detection could be used to recognize videos created and distributed by Uighur people for the purpose of reporting them to authorities. Uighurs who livestreamed videos on websites affiliated with Cloud Shield were given flags for the video to be removed or reviewed.<ref>Reuters Staff. (2020, December 17). Alibaba facial recognition tech specifically picks out Uighur minority - report. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alibaba-surveillance-idUKKBN28R0IR</ref> The website displayed to buyers of Alibaba's Cloud software that the technology could also be used to identify ethnic minorities, including a guide for the targeting of Uighurs.<ref>Davidson, H. (2020, December 17). Alibaba offered clients facial recognition to identify Uighur people, report reveals. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/17/alibaba-offered-clients-facial-recognition-to-identify-uighur-people</ref> An Alibaba Cloud spokesperson said that the facial recognition was limited to a testing environment, and that the extent of its targeting was used so that the company could test the extent of its capabilities.<ref>Alibaba facial recognition tech can identify Uighurs: Report. (2020, December 17). Www.aljazeera.com. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/12/17/alibaba-facial-recognition-tech-can-identify-uighurs-report</ref>
 +
 
 +
===Monopoly Concerns===
 +
On April 10th of 2021, the Chinese government fined Alibaba Group Holding Ltd for 18 billion yuan (equivalent to around 2.75 billion dollars). China had probed the company and found that Alibaba had taken advantage of its dominant holding on the e-commerce and technology market for years.<ref>Murdoch, S. (2021, April 10). China fines Alibaba record $2.75 bln for anti-monopoly violations. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/china-regulators-fine-alibaba-275-bln-anti-monopoly-violations-2021-04-10/</ref> The main focus of the investigation was a practice that forced sellers to choose one out of two platforms rather than being able to engage with both. China's State Administration for Market Regulation said that this practice eliminates competition amongst online retailers and that it infringes on the rights of e-commerce consumers. In accordance to the State Administration's verdict, Alibaba will have to report self-examination and compliance reports to the Chinese government for the following three years along with the fine.<ref>Wang, C. (2021, April 10). China slaps Alibaba with $2.8 billion fine in anti-monopoly probe. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/09/china-fines-alibaba-in-anti-monopoly-probe.html</ref> Alibaba executives responded to the fine and regulations by stating that they would implement measures to reduce barrier to entry and the costs faced by sellers. Alibaba also reassured its investors that they would be cooperating with anti-monopoly regulators by making it less expensive for merchants to use their platform and removing competitive restraints on other platforms.<ref>Alibaba accepts record China fine and vows to change. (2021, April 12). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56713508</ref> Executives of Alibaba also said that they believed the regulatory focus on Alibaba would end after the company was hit with the fine. The company's shares were reported to have climbed by 9% after the anti-monopoly fine.<ref>Sweeney, M. (2021, April 12). Alibaba shares jump after record $2.8bn anti-monopoly fine. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/apr/12/alibaba-shares-jump-after-record-anti-monopoly-fine ‌</ref>
 +
 
 +
==References==
 +
{{resource|
 +
<references/>
 +
([[Topics|back to index]])
 +
[[Category:Websites]]
 +
[[Category:Services]]
 
}}
 
}}

Latest revision as of 21:26, 11 February 2022

Back • ↑Topics • ↑Categories
Alibaba
Alibaba.png
Alibabahq.jpeg
"Alibaba Logo" Site
Type Technology company
Launch Date 1999
Status Active
Product Line E-commerce
Technology
Retail
Platform Cloud Service
Android Tablet
Android App
iOs App
Website www.alibaba.com/
A
libaba Group Holding Limited, or Alibaba,
is a Chinese multinational online ecommerce and technology company. Over the last year alone, Alibaba's online sites totaled $248 billion in transactions, making the website one of the fastest growing ecommerce stores.[1] Further, an estimated 80% of the Chinese online commerce markets is controlled by the Alibaba Group.[2] The website was founded in 1999 by Jack Ma and 17 others in Hangzhou, China. Since the platform was open to everyone who had access to the Internet, the founders' philosophy was that the website would allow smaller companies and technological innovation to thrive in global markets.[3] Alibaba, in addition to maintaining Alibaba.com, also owns taobao.com and tmall.com, both widely used online shopping stores by the Chinese customer base.[4] Alibaba makes the majority of its revenue through hosting advertisements on its websites.[5]

Alibaba ranks 23rd on Forbes' Global 2000 2021 list, and 11th on the same magazine's Top 100 Digital Companies 2019.[6] The Alibaba Group made an estimated $200 billion yuan in the 3rd quarter of 2021, equivalent to about $31 million in USD.[7] Although recently, Alibaba has hit a decline in terms of profit, with the adjusted amount for the month of November 2021 being 28.52 billion. This 39% decline in profit was the company's first in 22 quarters. [8]

The technology company has been at the center of multiple ethical concerns. Alibaba has a reputation for hosting numerous counterfeit sellers on their websites, with an estimated 70% of all counterfeit goods originating from China.[9] Because millions of Chinese workers produce large quantities of counterfeit goods, the Chinese government abstains from persecuting the counterfeiting issue. In 2021, the Chinese government took steps in regulating Alibaba by issuing a $2.8 billion fine for violating anti-monopoly regulations. In response, the Alibaba Group did not deny the accusation, and resolved to paying the 18 billion yuan fine, 4% of Alibaba's total sales in 2019.[10] Most recently, the ecommerce company is under fire for sexual misconduct allegations after a female employee wrote an 11-page essay detailing her experiences with assault in the firm.[11]

History

The founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, was born on September 10th, 1964.[12] Ma had originally wanted to become an English teacher, but after securing a teacher position and failing to attend Harvard University, he recognized a hole in the Chinese ecommerce market. Starting with $35 million, Jack and his group of 18 technological pioneers created Alibaba. Two years later, in December 2001, Alibaba.com surpassed 1 million registered users.[13] Eventually funded with more venture capital, the Alibaba Group added more websites to their roster like Taobao.com, Ali Wangwang (a messaging application that made it easier to look up consumer goods), and Alipay. Later on in 2005, Alibaba was allowed to partner with the United States web service provider, Yahoo.[14] In 2007, Alibaba launched a monetization platform, Alimama. Two years after, the Alibaba Group established their own cloud services provider, Alibaba Cloud. The arrival of the Alibaba Cloud service also marked the company's tenth anniversary.[15] 2010 noted some of the first instances of U.S. businesses displaying products on the Alibaba website, including Ray Ban and Gap.[16] Since the company's conception, Jack Ma has stepped down as CEO of the group, as well as from his chairman position in 2019.[17] In his place, current CEO of the Alibaba Group, Daniel Zhang, will take his place as chairman. As recently as November 2019, the Alibaba Group was listed on the Main Board of Hong Kong's stock exchange.[18]

Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma

Website

The main website, Alibaba.com, presents a wide array of products available to buy in bulk, ranging from consumer electronics to food and beverages. Alibaba.com is a global business to business marketplace where buyers can contact sellers to purchase their desired goods. Because Alibaba.com is B2B facing, many buyers on the website are commonly wholesalers or manufacturers that are buying bulk materials and goods from other businesses.[19] Included on the website and available to sellers are tools used for global sourcing. One of these tools is automatic translation of messages on one's storefront. Buyers can send messages to a seller in one language, and the text of the return message will be automatically translated and sent back. The marketplace also has a currency conversion tools that functions similarly, so consumers and suppliers do not have to manually calculate currency differences.[20]

The Alibaba Group logo

Affiliated Companies

Internet Messaging and Services

Founded in 2003 by the Alibaba Group, Taobao.com is a large, Chinese, online retail platform. The website allows businesses and individual consumers to contact each other to buy goods across China and globally. Ali Wangwang was also developed by the Alibaba Group to provide a medium for buyers and sellers to reach agreements regarding the sale of products on Taobao.com. According to a research study conducted by Jie Gao and Zhenghua Zhang in 2011, around ninety-nine percent of buyers on Taobao.com reported using Ali Wangwang to communicate with sellers before making a purchase on the website. Additionally, more than 77% of buyers on Taobao.com used Ali Wangwang to contact sellers before every transaction they made.[21] The same study found that privacy and safety concerns involved with Ali Wangwang affected user satisfaction with the messaging platform. Chinese users who were satisfied with the service said that they received less spam messages and had less privacy concerns than those who were dissatisfied with the service. Those who said that they received spam messages and were tolerant of them likened them to the way retailers make cold calls to consumers, as they were often advertisements by sellers on Taobao.com.[22]

Cloud Computing

Alibaba Cloud was founded in 2009 and is a subsidiary of the Alibaba Group. Three years after Amazon created Amazon Web Services (AWS), Alibaba introduced a cloud computing service called Aliyun. In 2015, they would later rebrand to Alibaba Cloud. The service, including both cloud computing and artificial intelligence, provides for thousands of businesses, government, and other organizations across over 200 countries.[23] Alibaba Cloud's international headquarters is located in Singapore, and the subsidiary has operational teams located in Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris, San Mateo, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo.[24]. Per the Alibaba Cloud website, the service is ranked number one in Asia Pacific, number one in China, and number three in the world amongst cloud service providers.[25]

Entertainment and Media

In 2016, Alibaba acquired the remaining stake of Youku Todou Inc, a Chinese-based video hosting platform, for $4.4 billion.[26] As of December 17, the video hosting platform had an estimated 374 million monthly users, according to QuestMobile figures (a China-based big data services provider).[27] In 2018, Alibaba's digital media and entertainment division experienced a 20% yearly growth in revenue since their purchase of Youku. Since 2018, Alibaba has not released figures about Youku's average daily subscriber growth.[28]

Ethical Issues

Environmental Flaws

In 2013 Jack Ma, former CEO of the Alibaba Group, said that he believes that the pollution in China should be reformed. In an article in the Harvard Business Review, Ma said that a new goal for Alibaba was to help China revitalize its environment and to help resolve water, air, and food security issues.[29] Alibaba and its logistics child company, Cainiao, have attempted to move towards environmentally friendly packaging techniques in the past, including using biodegradable plastics. Coming from the Western-targeted online magazine Sixth Tone in 2017, a toxics campaigner at Beijing's Greenpeace, Liu Hua, argued that the biodegradable plastics that Cainiao intended to roll out by 2020 would only biodegrade under specific circumstances.[30] The criteria involved in order for the packaging materials to biodegrade would lead to most of the packaging remaining in place in landfills. Cainiao's promotional material explained that the green materials will biodegrade in 180 days. Though, according to a researcher at the Rock Environment and Energy Institute in Beijing, Mao Da, the materials would only biodegrade in 180 days in a composting plant, of which are few in China.[31]

Sexual Assault and Harassment

In the past year, the Alibaba Group has been the focus of a sexual assault allegation. In August 2021, Alibaba received an 11-page document that explained how on a business trip, a female employee was forced to drink and then was sexually assaulted by her boss. The allegations were met with surprise by Alibaba employees, as around a third of Alibaba executives are women and because the company claims it has an efficient HR system which maintains staff identity along the values of Alibaba.[32] While the individual who was said to have committed the act was let go, there was no ongoing criminal case against him. In December 2021, an article came out on BBC that reported that the woman who had made the allegations was fired the month prior. In her termination letter, it said that she spread misinformation regarding the events of the business trip and about the steps the company took in response. Per the same article, the man who was accused of rape admitted that he had engaged in sexual activity with her while she was inebriated. While the Chinese government dropped the case, the man who allegedly sexually assaulted the Alibaba employee, Mr. Zhang, was placed under arrest by prosecutors.[33]

Counterfeit Goods

While Jack Ma has made it known that he is against the sale of counterfeit goods, the Alibaba Group has had numerous instances of exporting counterfeit products. Taobao, owned by Alibaba, was classified by the United States as a "notorious market," meaning that it is in strong violation of world IP, trademark, and copyright laws.[34] Craig Crosby, a publisher of The Counterfeit Report, disclosed that his firm removed 18 million cases of infringing goods and that Alibaba's counterfeit regulatory program is exceedingly arduous for rights holders to navigate and persecute.[35] Alibaba has also recently taken steps to mitigate some of the counterfeit luxury goods that are available on its website. Using an AI platform developed in the Alibaba Turing lab, the company is able to determine counterfeit logos of luxury goods in approximately 30-50 milliseconds, scanning from a database of 13.7 billion pictures.[36]

Security Breaches

In November 2019, a software developer web-scraped Alibaba's shopping platform, Taobao.com, for eight months. This resulted in over 1.1 billion pieces of user information and data being collected before Alibaba was able to notice the scraping.[37] The information that was gathered included user IDs, mobile phone numbers, and customer comments. The People's Court of Suiyang District presided over the crime, stating that two criminals (the software developer and his employer) were involved. After a formal police investigation commenced, both individuals were sentenced to imprisonment for over three years and were fined one hundred thousand and three hundred fifty thousand yuan for infringing on personal information.[38]

Alibaba's cloud services have also been probed for potential security concerns. The U.S. presidential administration has recently launched an investigation into Alibaba Cloud, focused on its data storage practices for U.S. clients. The investigation is based around the potential for the Chineses government to gain access to U.S. personal information and intellectual property.[39] In Alibaba's 2021 annual report, there were concerns flagged surrounding the platform's U.S. operations. The Chinese company said that U.S. individuals with whom they have contracts or other relationships with may be forbidden from continuing business, including the use of their cloud computing services.[40]

Facial Recognition

Alibaba Cloud Service

The Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has developed facial recognition software that specifically targeted Uighur members of China. The U.S. video surveillance information source, IPVM, reported that face detection technology existed within Alibaba's Cloud Shield service.[41] The facial detection could be used to recognize videos created and distributed by Uighur people for the purpose of reporting them to authorities. Uighurs who livestreamed videos on websites affiliated with Cloud Shield were given flags for the video to be removed or reviewed.[42] The website displayed to buyers of Alibaba's Cloud software that the technology could also be used to identify ethnic minorities, including a guide for the targeting of Uighurs.[43] An Alibaba Cloud spokesperson said that the facial recognition was limited to a testing environment, and that the extent of its targeting was used so that the company could test the extent of its capabilities.[44]

Monopoly Concerns

On April 10th of 2021, the Chinese government fined Alibaba Group Holding Ltd for 18 billion yuan (equivalent to around 2.75 billion dollars). China had probed the company and found that Alibaba had taken advantage of its dominant holding on the e-commerce and technology market for years.[45] The main focus of the investigation was a practice that forced sellers to choose one out of two platforms rather than being able to engage with both. China's State Administration for Market Regulation said that this practice eliminates competition amongst online retailers and that it infringes on the rights of e-commerce consumers. In accordance to the State Administration's verdict, Alibaba will have to report self-examination and compliance reports to the Chinese government for the following three years along with the fine.[46] Alibaba executives responded to the fine and regulations by stating that they would implement measures to reduce barrier to entry and the costs faced by sellers. Alibaba also reassured its investors that they would be cooperating with anti-monopoly regulators by making it less expensive for merchants to use their platform and removing competitive restraints on other platforms.[47] Executives of Alibaba also said that they believed the regulatory focus on Alibaba would end after the company was hit with the fine. The company's shares were reported to have climbed by 9% after the anti-monopoly fine.[48]

References

  1. WSJ.com News Graphics. (2019). What is Alibaba? The Wall Street Journal. https://graphics.wsj.com/alibaba/
  2. WSJ.com News Graphics. (2019). What is Alibaba? The Wall Street Journal. https://graphics.wsj.com/alibaba/
  3. Alibaba Group. (2019). Alibabagroup.com. https://www.alibabagroup.com/en/about/history
  4. Broad, M. (2014, September 14). What exactly is Alibaba? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-29077495‌
  5. Broad, M. (2014, September 14). What exactly is Alibaba? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-29077495
  6. Alibaba Group. (2021, May 13). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/companies/alibaba-group/?sh=7da42ff619f5
  7. Alibaba Group Announces September Quarter 2021 Results. (2021, November 18). Finance.yahoo.com. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/alibaba-group-announces-september-quarter-112400052.html
  8. Qu, T. (2021, November 18). Alibaba sees first adjusted profit decline in five years. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3156560/alibaba-net-income-plummets-87-cent-resulting-first-adjusted-profit
  9. Doggett, J. (2017, May 6). Why American Companies Can’t Trust Alibaba. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2017/05/06/alibaba-jack-ma-donald-trump-owner-group-china/
  10. Moore, E. (2021, April 10). China Fines Alibaba $2.8 Billion For Breaking Anti-Monopoly Law. NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/2021/04/10/986112628/china-fines-alibaba-2-8-billion-for-breaking-anti-monopoly-law
  11. Li, J. (2021, September 8). A rape allegation at Alibaba has prompted an outpouring in China about toxic work culture. Quartz. https://qz.com/2044385/alibaba-rape-allegation-prompts-reflection-on-toxic-work-culture/
  12. O’Connell, B. (2019, October 30). History of Alibaba: Timeline and Facts. TheStreet. https://www.thestreet.com/world/history-of-alibaba-15145103
  13. Alibaba Group. (n.d.). Www.alibabagroup.com. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.alibabagroup.com/en/about/history?year=2001
  14. O’Connell, B. (2019, October 30). History of Alibaba: Timeline and Facts. TheStreet. https://www.thestreet.com/world/history-of-alibaba-15145103
  15. Alibaba Group. (n.d.). Www.alibabagroup.com. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.alibabagroup.com/en/about/history?year=2009
  16. O’Connell, B. (2019, October 30). History of Alibaba: Timeline and Facts. TheStreet. https://www.thestreet.com/world/history-of-alibaba-15145103
  17. Liberto, D. (2019, October 9). Jack Ma Steps Down As Alibaba Celebrates 20 Years. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/news/alibabas-jack-ma-step-down-year/
  18. Alibaba Group(2019b). Alibabagroup.com. https://www.alibabagroup.com/en/about/history?year=2019
  19. How to buy and source from Alibaba. (2020, December 15). Alibaba.com Seller Central. https://seller.alibaba.com/businessblogs/px65f6s8-how-to-buy-and-source-from-alibaba‌
  20. How to buy and source from Alibaba. (2020, December 15). Alibaba.com Seller Central. https://seller.alibaba.com/businessblogs/px65f6s8-how-to-buy-and-source-from-alibaba‌
  21. Gao, Jie & Zhang, Zhenghua. (2011). User Satisfaction of Ali Wangwang, an Instant Messenger Tool. 414-420. 10.1007/978-3-642-21708-1_47.
  22. Gao, Jie & Zhang, Zhenghua. (2011). User Satisfaction of Ali Wangwang, an Instant Messenger Tool. 414-420. 10.1007/978-3-642-21708-1_47.
  23. Why Alibaba Cloud? Global Emerging Technologies Redefining the Digital World. (2017). Alibabacloud.com. https://www.alibabacloud.com/about
  24. Crunchbase. (2022). Crunchbase. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/alibaba-cloud
  25. Why Alibaba Cloud? Global Emerging Technologies Redefining the Digital World. (2017). Alibabacloud.com. https://www.alibabacloud.com/about
  26. Johnston, M. (2019). 10 Companies Owned by Alibaba. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/insights/10-companies-owned-alibaba/
  27. Davila, D. (2020). Youku Tudou vs. YouTube: A Financial Comparison (YOKU, GOOG). Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/053016/youku-tudou-vs-youtube-financial-comparison-yoku-goog.asp
  28. Davila, D. (2020). Youku Tudou vs. YouTube: A Financial Comparison (YOKU, GOOG). Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/053016/youku-tudou-vs-youtube-financial-comparison-yoku-goog.asp
  29. Ma, J. (2013, November 11). Jack Ma on Taking Back China’s Blue Skies. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2013/11/jack-ma-on-taking-back-chinas-blue-skies
  30. Wang Lianzhang. (2016). Environmentalists Criticize Alibaba’s “Green” Packaging. Sixth Tone. https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1001165/environmentalists-criticize-alibabas-green-packaging
  31. Wang Lianzhang. (2016). Environmentalists Criticize Alibaba’s “Green” Packaging. Sixth Tone. https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1001165/environmentalists-criticize-alibabas-green-packaging
  32. Chen, Y., & Mak, R. (2021, August 9). Alibaba’s #MeToo scandal is warning for China tech. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/alibabas-metoo-scandal-is-warning-china-tech-2021-08-09/
  33. Alibaba fires woman who claimed sexual assault. (2021, December 12). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-59627131
  34. Shepard, W. (2018, January 26). Alibaba’s Taobao Is Once Again Branded A “Notorious Market” For Counterfeit Goods. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2018/01/26/if-beijing-listened-to-jack-ma-hed-be-going-to-jail/?sh=5e3d637249e3
  35. Shepard, W. (2018, January 26). Alibaba’s Taobao Is Once Again Branded A “Notorious Market” For Counterfeit Goods. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2018/01/26/if-beijing-listened-to-jack-ma-hed-be-going-to-jail/?sh=5e3d637249e3
  36. Alibaba’s AI platform recognizes counterfeit luxury products sold online amid booming industry in China - Global Times. (2021). Globaltimes.cn. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202105/1223967.shtml?id=11
  37. Lin, Y. J. and L. (2021, June 16). Alibaba Falls Victim to Chinese Web Crawler in Large Data Leak. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/alibaba-falls-victim-to-chinese-web-crawler-in-large-data-leak-11623774850
  38. Marzouk, Z. (2021, June 21). Alibaba data breach exposes 1.1 billion pieces of data. IT PRO. https://www.itpro.com/security/data-breaches/359897/alibaba-data-breach-exposes-11-billion-pieces-of-data
  39. Tripathi, D. (2022, January 18). Alibaba Slips on Report US Probing Cloud Business for Security Risks. Www.yahoo.com. https://www.yahoo.com/now/alibaba-slips-report-us-probing-065430057.html
  40. Tripathi, D. (2022, January 18). Alibaba Slips on Report US Probing Cloud Business for Security Risks. Www.yahoo.com. https://www.yahoo.com/now/alibaba-slips-report-us-probing-065430057.html
  41. Davidson, H. (2020, December 17). Alibaba offered clients facial recognition to identify Uighur people, report reveals. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/17/alibaba-offered-clients-facial-recognition-to-identify-uighur-people
  42. Reuters Staff. (2020, December 17). Alibaba facial recognition tech specifically picks out Uighur minority - report. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alibaba-surveillance-idUKKBN28R0IR
  43. Davidson, H. (2020, December 17). Alibaba offered clients facial recognition to identify Uighur people, report reveals. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/17/alibaba-offered-clients-facial-recognition-to-identify-uighur-people
  44. Alibaba facial recognition tech can identify Uighurs: Report. (2020, December 17). Www.aljazeera.com. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/12/17/alibaba-facial-recognition-tech-can-identify-uighurs-report
  45. Murdoch, S. (2021, April 10). China fines Alibaba record $2.75 bln for anti-monopoly violations. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/china-regulators-fine-alibaba-275-bln-anti-monopoly-violations-2021-04-10/
  46. Wang, C. (2021, April 10). China slaps Alibaba with $2.8 billion fine in anti-monopoly probe. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/09/china-fines-alibaba-in-anti-monopoly-probe.html
  47. Alibaba accepts record China fine and vows to change. (2021, April 12). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56713508
  48. Sweeney, M. (2021, April 12). Alibaba shares jump after record $2.8bn anti-monopoly fine. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/apr/12/alibaba-shares-jump-after-record-anti-monopoly-fine

(back to index)