![]() As a result, he wasn’t able to communicate with his clients and lost about $500 a day, according to the complaint. One of the anonymous California plaintiffs, a practitioner of traditional Chinese massage, allegedly had his WeChat account frozen for 42 days after he made a comment about the COVID-19 pandemic last year, according to the complaint. It’s also essential for Chinese-speaking people in California who need it to communicate with friends and relatives in China as well as to do business within the Chinese-speaking community, according to the complaint. WeChat is the most used social media app among Chinese-speaking people in part because China blocks other apps, such as Facebook and Twitter. “Indeed, many WeChat users have told CPIFC that they feel real fear that the Party-state or its agents will retaliate against them or their family, and that, as a result, they self-censor, despite the fact that they live in California.” ![]() “All this chills constitutionally protected speech,” according to the complaint filed Friday in California state court in San Jose. The Shenzhen-based company has called the allegations baseless and malicious.A group of California WeChat users sued Tencent Holdings Ltd., the Chinese owner of the messaging and payment app, for allegedly violating their right to privacy by surveilling and censoring their communications.Ĭitizen Power Initiatives for China, a group promoting transition to democracy in China, and six anonymous WeChat users said comments made using WeChat that can be perceived as critical of the Chinese government have led to the users’ accounts being frozen, causing them to be cut off from friends and relatives in China as well as their business clients in the U.S. But Tencent executives said during the company’s most recent quarterly earnings call that it prioritizes the user experience and any opening-up should be measured.īyteDance in February sued Tencent, alleging its rival violated antitrust laws by blocking access to content from Douyin on WeChat and QQ, the country’s two largest social media services by users. Earlier this year, Alibaba aimed to set up a Taobao Deals lite app on WeChat and had already invited merchants to participate, Bloomberg News reported. on Chinese-owned social media platforms like Tencents WeChat have reduced. 17.Īlibaba and Tencent executives have said they will comply, publicly espousing a more open Chinese internet. Chinas image and Xis own profile have improved in key parts of the world. Local media have reported the MIIT ordered internet firms to begin taking action Sept. ![]() It was unclear however what actions regulators want the big tech firms to take, and by when. Chinese tech giant Tencent is preparing to launch its own handheld game console, which has already surfaced on the web along with the first images. They’re also regarded by critics as key to helping internet firms control user data and market dominance.Ĭhina’s largest internet corporations have historically blocked links from within their services to rivals’ content. At a near-700bn (£536bn) valuation, Tencent is the blazing star of China’s social media galaxy, pulling almost the entirety of the country into its orbit with its super app WeChat. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last week summoned executives from the country’s largest online platforms to emphasize the need to end closed ecosystems that impair the flow of commerce. Of the two, Alibaba is regarded as benefiting more because it will be able to tap Tencent’s billion-plus users, while Tencent-which is fiercely protective of the user experience on its apps-has less incentive to allow people to post shopping links.įor the first time in years, Tencent WeChat users can now link to rival platforms’ content like Douyin and Taobao /VD1YcxSBGD ![]() The government has accused a handful of companies of unfairly protecting their respective spheres: Tencent in social media via WeChat, Alibaba in e-commerce with Taobao and Tmall and, more recently, ByteDance in video via TikTok-cousin Douyin. In a statement announcing the move Friday, Tencent said it will also provide ways for its users to report suspicious content, and work on features for sharing links in wider group discussions.Ĭhina’s top technology regulator has warned internet firms to stop blocking links to rival services, prising open so-called walled gardens in a broader campaign to curb their growing monopoly on data and protect consumers. Key usage figures of Tencent's WeChat and its other services 2020-2021. While it’s unclear whether the social giant has opened up more of its scores of online services, it’s a major step for Tencent, which along with Alibaba and ByteDance controls vast swathes of China’s internet. Within China, Tencent’s products have enjoyed a great popularity.
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