Editor-DN
The US has added China-based technology giant Tencent to its list of companies designated as partners with the Chinese military. According to Bloomberg.
Tencent is one of the world’s ten largest companies, owns or invests in numerous game developers and publishers, and is the developer of WeChat, one of the world’s largest social media and messaging platforms.
Before that, WeChat was specifically named to be banned along with TikTok by the first Trump administration, but it was blocked by a federal judge and formally overturned by the Biden administration.
Now, it looks like the whole mess is happening again, though this time for a different reason.
In the past, concerns over WeChat centered around data collection and retention by China. This time, Tencent – WeChat’s parent company – is under scrutiny because the US believes it has ties to the Chinese military. In statements to the edge and Bloomberg, Tencent has denied the allegations and said it would work with the Department of Defense to get it removed from the list.
Meanwhile, being on the list does not prevent anyone from using Tencent’s services or gaming titles. You can still play Valorant or League of Legends, and the use of WeChat in the States will not be hindered in any way. However, this has dealt a considerable blow to the company’s reputation in the West, and Tencent’s stock prices fell more than seven percentage points with the news.
so what does What does this mean? WeChat is the brand most affected by anything that happens to Tencent because it is the company’s biggest platform by far. With nearly 1 billion users in China alone, the platform dwarfs other services of its kind. It’s worth noting that there are also more than 4 million WeChat users in the US who would be affected by any government action against Tencent.
which may come. The Trump 2.0 administration will be as unpredictable as it was the first time when it comes to dealing with China. If the president decides to do so, we could see it evolve into a Huawei-style ban. If it turns out that Tencent isn’t really on the list, we could even see it disappear. This is exactly what happened to Xiaomi when it was mistakenly included in 2021.
Was also in hot water with Tencent Department of Justicewhich claims there are antitrust violations with the way Tencent and Epic Games (Tencent owns 35% of Epic) were running their boards of directors. This is not directly related to the addition of any DoD lists but is ammunition further action should be considered.
In short, if you use WeChat on your phone, you have nothing to worry about yet. Tomorrow, however, is another day.
