Why has internet corruption increased?

To summarize, on one hand, the layoff of people at age 35 has led many to consider securing financial freedom as early as possible (paralleling the corruption peak observed around age 55 in state-owned enterprises). On the other hand, there is limited room for new development; as growth rates slow, companies begin to streamline and rectify operations—during expansion periods, they hire aggressively and skip such cleanup. Additionally, there aren’t many upward career opportunities in the internet industry. Combined with the “age-35 dilemma,” this creates greater anxiety. After all, when you leave or are laid off, all prior recognition fades into the past, leaving you full of regret—because only money feels real.

It’s an industry norm for procurement staff to receive a 1%–2% kickback as “normal income.”

As of March 1, 2021, the maximum penalty for non-state-functionary bribery was raised to life imprisonment, with the threshold for criminal liability aligned with that for bribery of state functionaries—set uniformly at 30,000 RMB.

The Internet’s “Age-35 Trap”: Desire, Human Nature, and Gray Areas｜Kejin