China Suspends Tencent From Updating Existing Apps or Launching New Apps (scmp.com) 27
China has suspended Tencent Holdings from updating its existing apps or launching any new apps as part of a "temporary administrative guidance" against the tech giant, Chinese media outlets including Shanghai-based Chinastarmarket.cn reported. From a report: According to the report, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has told app stores and platforms to implement the order against Tencent apps from Wednesday in a harsh administrative punishment against the tech giant, which runs dozens of apps including the super app WeChat that has 1.2 billion users. Tencent said in a statement that it is cooperating with the authorities on inspecting its apps, indirectly confirming the report.
There are more than 70 apps published by Tencent that are active and there are more than 100 games published by Tencent Mobile Games, according to app tracking firm Qimai. It is not known how long the suspension will last and the Chinese ministry has not published any information about the ban. "We are continuously working to enhance user protection features within our apps, and also have regular cooperation with relevant government agencies to ensure regulatory compliance. Our apps remain functional and available for download," Tencent said in its statement.
There are more than 70 apps published by Tencent that are active and there are more than 100 games published by Tencent Mobile Games, according to app tracking firm Qimai. It is not known how long the suspension will last and the Chinese ministry has not published any information about the ban. "We are continuously working to enhance user protection features within our apps, and also have regular cooperation with relevant government agencies to ensure regulatory compliance. Our apps remain functional and available for download," Tencent said in its statement.
Sell off Digital Extremes... (Score:2)
Please sell off Digital Extremes. I de-installed it when they were purchased. I'd love to have my Chinesium spyware free game back again.
And people wonder why Tencent invests. (Score:3)
So here you see the real reason that Tencent invests in a ton of non-Chinese companies. Because the writing on the wall has always been that they'll be smacked down by the Chinese government, and at least with a spread out portfolio, that won't mean the immediate end of the company.
And for those going on about Chinese Spaiwarez in all the companies Tencent invested in... *sigh*
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Tencent invests because it's smart business period. Amazon invests in different sectors and regions because it's smart business. Amazon expanding in Indian has little to do with the politics of American but rather growing your business.
Spyware is not a valid concern. Data-collection is. Both countries need to do more to make sure data is not offshored.
As for any "writing on the wall" that's just China. There are number of reasons Tencent is getting more flak but in general the regulatory consequences of Chi
Re:And people wonder why Tencent invests. (Score:4, Insightful)
Lets See Evergrande ring a bell?
Jack Ma disappearing for months to have a chat with the party?
Hell even Fang Bing got told she retroactively owed more money than she earned in taxes and was afforded to tell the country how much she loves the party.
Lets not talk about ARM and how the CCP said sure the citizen we forced on you to do business in the country can steal the company.
Having a way to get out of dodge, is just smart business when you operate in China.
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That's nonsense. Ownership is not a right in China. Alibaba was already forced to divest a bunch of other companies and shares in other companies that they bought. The way that works, they sell them at a loss, or donate them, to a State-owned holding company. Done. If you argue or try to fight the order in court, you disappear.
It is completely silly to think that "spreading out" would provide them any protections. They don't have Constitutional Rights. Only the CCP has Constitutional Rights.
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Yeah, can you imagine if America tried to break up AT&T?
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Hurr durr, this is sort of Euro-nationalist nonsense we get here at slashdot these days.
Just look at your apple and your orange. You think I believe you that you can't tell them apart? Of course you can tell them apart. You're not that stupid. It's just that thoughts of America cause you to instantly go insane with self-doubt, and you begin furiously patting yourself on the back while saying something insulting.
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They realized that China would regulate the domestic market heavily, so looked for other markets to exploit. Europe was pretty strong privacy rules, but little regulation of things like online games. There is a bit for things which are considered gambling, but most of the abuse is still allowed.
Therefore most of the effort goes on low regulation markets like the US and some developing nations, where they can extract maximum profit.
What next (Score:4, Insightful)
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Wait, who was this?
Re:What next (Score:4, Informative)
Tennis player accuses party official of rape, disappears for three weeks. Reappears in China, assures people "all is well" after news about her is suppressed in China.
China is evil. Free Hong Kong, may all evil be vanquished.
Re: What next (Score:2)
Exactly. Who? No one knows. Sheâ(TM)s been erased by Chinese media, and everyone will forget her name. PENG SHUAI
https://www.wsj.com/amp/articl... [wsj.com]
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Banks mostly do not need to be seized because they are largely all government controlled. The new "online" banking is a bit more complex though, maybe that's what you are referring to?
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Didn't China wrestle Ant away from Alibaba? (Ant was a digital payment system Jack Ma was promoting until China forced Alibaba to separate from i
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all third party news outlets in China are banned
That's not true. It actually varies from region to region, e.g. in the south west the firewall is a lot less restrictive. Many foreign news sites are allowed, but sometimes individual stories or keywords are blocked. There are many domestic news agencies too, some of whom publish less than flattering stuff but fly low enough under the radar to avoid any action against them.
Obviously it's still a pretty bad situation, but it's also quite complex.
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I dunno, but I can tell you that the hacker problem on PUBG is greatly reduced during those hours when the kids in China are kicked offline. It's become playable again, for a 6 hour block or so each day.
Ummm the kids are kicked off for 23 hours a day though...
Party vs Tech (Score:4, Interesting)
China's government appears to be targeting their own tech companies. If you look at some of the recent laws or rulings passed, like stricter interpretation of labor laws, increased consumer privacy, restrictions on videogames, etc, It has the surface appearance of protecting consumers or looking out for their welfare (in kind of a big brother way). But another way of looking at it may be the Chinese government pushing back against the increasing power and influence of their emerging high-tech industries.
Long term, maybe capitalism and totalitarian regimes simply won't be compatible. It's been a somewhat surprising match-up so far, but Xi seems determined to keep tightening his grip on society, and I guess it's now starting to show some cracks. Will be interesting to see what happens.
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First, it should be clear Mao's writing on "The New Democracy" states that a country should first embrace capitalism, then socialism, then communism. So it's been pretty clear that if they really follow this concept of "Chinese Communism", over-time capitalistic components would be abolished.
Why does it have to be one or the other? China can be both protecting consumers and pushing back against the power of tech-industry. Both I can support. The power these corporations have supersedes many governments in t
Exploit? (Score:2)
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Effectively zero. I feel like people who want to tout this shit know fuck all about the OSI model. There is no fucking need to exploit every app level when you can be exploiting the network and transport layer. This is what all the shit with Huawei is about. Is China really effectively exploiting at this layer and if they are, well that could be a rather serious threat but it's clear in China with aspects like the GFW that this is the preferred level to control information in China.
Why now? (Score:2)
Chinaâ(TM)s government has always had the power to suppress movie stars, pop stars, and tech kingpins. So why are they choosing to do this now? They rarely play the short game, so they have some kind of long term plan for China we have yet to see.