Hong Kong CNN -
Taxi company Didi has been allowed to resume registering new users in China, the company said on Monday, providing further evidence that Beijing's crackdown on the tech giant may be coming to an end.
The move is the latest sign that regulators are losing control of the troubled state's tech firms in an effort to spur economic growth.
"Our company has been cooperating with the government's cybersecurity audit for over a year and has seriously addressed the security issues found in the audit and made great improvements," Didi said in a statement posted on its Weibo page.
With the Cyber Security Review Authority's approval, Didi will be able to continue adding new users "very quickly."
Didi is an example of Beijing's crackdown on its tech companies. Days after Wall Street's $4.4 billion IPO in June 2021, regulators banned Didi from selling apps in mainland Chinese stores and launched an investigation into its handling of customer data.
They accused Didi of violating privacy laws and creating cyber security risks. Their actions were also widely seen as retaliation for the company's decision to go public overseas rather than in China.
The regulatory action wiped billions of dollars from Didi's market capitalization and hurt its domestic business. Under pressure from Beijing, Didi announced in late 2021 that it would begin the process of delisting from the New York Stock Exchange and refocus on Hong Kong.
Last July, China's cyber regulator fined Didi 8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) for violating cyber and data protection laws.
The ban on new users was lifted after Beijing signaled a softening of its stance on the country's technology industry. Earlier this month, a senior official said the government's crackdown on the fintech operations of more than a dozen internet companies was "essentially" over.
The comments came on the same day Chinese tycoon Jack Ma relinquished control of the group after the fintech giant's shareholders agreed to restructure its business.
A crackdown on China's biggest tech companies began in 2020 with new fintech rules that forced Mother Ant Group to delay the launch of its $37 billion IPO. The regulator then targeted several other tech giants, including Tencent, Meituan and Didi.
But China's economy has collapsed due to strict Covid restrictions that ended in early December and a historic slump in the property market. This year, politicians have pledged to do whatever they can to save the economy, which relies on the private sector to support growth and boost domestic demand.
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