Internet giants squabble over competition

Chinese Internet giants Qihoo 360 and Tencent on Wednesday argued their cases over unfair practices, according to the Supreme People's Court (SPC).

The feud between Qihoo 360 and China's leading Internet company, Tencent, began in 2010, when Qihoo 360 accused Tencent of invading the privacy of its users through a security program bundled with Tencent's popular QQ instant messaging service.

Following the complaint, Qihoo 360 released its own security software, claiming it would speed up QQ and offer better privacy.

Tencent sued Qihoo 360 for unfair competition, accusing it of interfering with and judging Tencent's software in violation of honesty, credibility and commercial ethics.

The Guangdong Higher People's Court ruled in favor of Tencent in April 2013, demanding Qihoo desist, apologize and pay five million yuan (820,000 U.S. dollars) of compensation.

Qihoo has now turned to the SPC for a re-trial.

In a Wednesday statement, the SPC noted plenty of evidence in the case, multiple hotspots in the conflict and complicated issues, adding that the case is overseen by SPC vice president Xi Xiaoming.

Wednesday's trial went through court investigation, debate, final statements from both sides and court mediation. The ruling will be announced at a time yet to be determined.

According to the SPC, it is the most expensive and influential unfair practices case in China's Internet industry to date, and the outcome will have a significant impact on Internet competition rules.

Wednesday's hearing followed a two-day trial in late November where Qihoo accused Tencent of monopolistic actions. The verdict will be announced later.